By Chief Christopher M. Leusner
Chief of Police, Middle Township Police Department

I first learned about adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, in 2016. Our local hospital asked me to be part of a community coalition when they applied for a grant to build a culture of health in Cape May County. We started to analyze the different issues that we were having in our community. I went in thinking about the opioid epidemic, and my counterparts in education and mental health and healthcare spoke about some of the challenges they faced. We came across the landmark ACEs study that found that early trauma and adversity that young children experience can lead to long-term problems. We said, “Wow, this is connected to all of us. We need to go upstream to really have an impact.”

When I looked at a lot of the situations police dealt with, I recognized that the interventions we were doing were important and should continue, but if I was true to the definition of community problem- oriented policing, I had to consider the underlying root cause. The root cause of crime and social disorder is trauma, and kids are exposed to trauma in a lot of cases.

Handle With Care began in West Virginia to help mitigate and prevent children's exposure to traumatic events. It’s a partnership between schools and police. Through this program, a responding police officer will notify a child’s school if the child was present for a traumatic event using a simple form reporting the name of the affected student and the date and time of the incident. No information about the incident itself is provided.

The goal of Handle With Care is to provide notice to the school before the bell rings the following day so the school doesn’t compound the child’s trauma. The teacher is made aware that something happened the night before and can use that lens if the student begins exhibiting a behavioral issue or shows signs of needing additional support. If the teacher isn’t notified, they could inadvertently add to the student’s trauma, but with the Handle With Care notice they may be able to view the situation differently and offer support.

Middle Township Police Department implemented its Handle With Care program in 2018, increasing communication and coordination with schools in our community. In the program’s first year, there were 110 situations where a child was present during a traumatic event or witnessed it. The department has had a lot of success with the program and received positive feedback from teachers for its impact, but there has also been a learning curve requiring consistent work in improving relationships between law enforcement, schools and school resource officers to build support and increase referrals.

The connection between schools and law enforcement is critical. Handle With Care is a simple intervention that can help law enforcement and educators take the first step towards instituting trauma-informed practices. Ultimately, this is the kind of investment that — over the long term — will result in a better education system and better outcomes for the kids in school, which mean better outcomes in society.

To learn more about New Jersey’s Handle With Care program, visit njoag.gov. You can also find additional resources about Handle With Care, including this short video, at www.Actions4ACEs.com.

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Christopher M. Leusner is the Chief of Police in Middle Township in Cape May County, New Jersey. Chief Leusner is a key partner in launching Action4ACEs in New Jersey. He has been instrumental in establishing Law Enforcement Summer Youth Camps to create positive interactions between youth and police officers and is a vocal proponent of incorporating trauma-informed practices in policing. He graduated from the FBI National Academy and the New Jersey State Chiefs of Police West Point Command and Leadership School.

Interested in learning more? Read an extended interview with Chief Leusner here.