Skip to main content

RETSD PARTNERS WITH COMMUNITY AGENCIES TO KEEP STUDENTS SAFE

June 20, 2022

In June 2022, representatives from several community agencies met at the RETSD Administration Offices to sign a commitment to the division's new VTRA (Violence Threat Risk Assessment) Community Protocol.

Our community partners include Child and Family Services, Community and Youth Corrections, Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth, the RCMP, and the Winnipeg Police Service.

The goal of the protocol is to intervene as early as possible when a child may be moving on a pathway towards violence. It will ensure a common understanding of processes and encourage common responses. The strength of the team is the access it provides to a broad range of expertise and perspective.

"There are few initiatives that bring as many community agencies and partners together as VTRA," says Kevin Cameron, executive director of the North American Center for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response. "The work of violence prevention is complex and requires high levels of assessment and intervention that in many situations requires far more support than schools can provide on their own."

The VTRA Community Protocol supports collaborative planning among children, families, schools, and community agencies to reduce violence and reflect safe, caring, and restorative approaches. It fosters timely sharing of information about children who pose a risk for violence towards themselves or others while respecting an individual's right to privacy to the fullest extent possible.

"As advocates for children and youth, we know the importance of collaborative, community-based approaches to increasing safety in schools by planning in advance for rapid responses to identified concerns," says Ainsley Krone, acting Manitoba Advocate. "We're pleased to stand in support of RETSD's community-led initiative and see it as a promising model for our province."

image description
Back to top