Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning. — Winston Churchill.

Protecting the safety of students, employees and visitors is a critical priority at Washington's 34 community and technical colleges. It requires effort from the entire campus community and an understanding of evidence-based best practices.

Developed by the Safety and Security Emergency Management Council (SSEMC), this toolkit helps campus personnel quickly find basic information, national standards, best practices, and advice from fellow colleagues. 

This toolkit is not intended as a sole source of information. Rather, it should be used as a portal to other valuable sources.

A behavioral intervention team (BIT) is cross-campus team that meets regularly to detect “red flags” in student or group behavior over time. The team collaborates, collects information, identifies risks, and intervenes when appropriate to protect people from harming themselves or others. Refer to the Behavioral Intervention Team page of this toolkit for more information.

Emergency Management Programs are based on the four phases of emergency management: prevention-mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.  Programs should be tailored to the culture, setting,  and physical environment of each college. Refer to the Emergency Management Program page of this toolkit for more information.

Occupational health and safety programs are designed to keep employees safe and healthy. Protecting employees from injuries is a both a moral obligation and a legal mandate. Refer to the Occupational Health and Safety Compliance page of this toolkit for more information.