School Safety Crisis Unit Staff

• The mission of the Office of School Safety (OSS/Office) is to assist educators students parents emergency responders and community organizations to create safe and positive school environments for all Colorado students in prek-12 and higher education schools.

• The OSS assists schools in preventing preparing for responding to and recovering from all types of emergencies and crisis situations.

• The OSS comprises three units: The Colorado School Safety Resource Center (CSSRC/Center) the Grants Unit and the Crisis Response Unit.

• The Center provides resources training and technical assistance to foster safe positive and successful learning environments where early intervention occurs to prevent crisis situations. This includes but is not limited to a resource website providing regional conferences and training in school safety issues and a newsletter. The Center works with an advisory board including various representatives such as the Department of Education the Department of Public Health and Environment the Department of Behavioral Health and law enforcement agencies.

• The Grants Unit manages state grants provided by the Colorado General Assembly and assists schools in finding additional grants.

• The Crisis Response Unit trains school professionals in crisis response and is available on a limited basis to respond to critical incidents in schools when requested.

• Hybrid approximately 50% spent traveling in the field 50% spent in the office requires flexibility

• Work unit core business hours Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. with some flexibility available

• Will have access to a fleet vehicle for work-related travel

• Travel will be required during work hours throughout Colorado

• Must be available to respond quickly to a school crisis situation anywhere within the state.

• This position works with school personnel to assist in preparing for school critical incidents and will respond to these incidents when requested. This staff will be trained in the PREPaRE Model of crisis response by the National Association of School Psychologists and in any other crisis models as specified by the Crisis Unit Manager. This position will be trained to deliver the PREPaRE model and any other crisis models the Unit deems appropriate for Colorado school personnel.

• This position is on-call to respond to crisis situations around the state when additional assistance is requested. This might include organizing the initial school response with local school and community officials and/or providing a supporting role as requested by the school officials. The goal always will be to return the students and staff to the business of education as quickly as possible while limiting the effects of trauma.
  
  

• Works with the CSSRCs School Outreach Consultant and the Regional Training Consultants to select and provide materials and training to personnel in any schools/districts and charter schools parents and students regarding all aspects of crisis prevention preparedness and response in alignment with the Colorado Safe Schools Act (CRS.1) and other appropriate statutes and federal laws.

• Works with the CSSRCs School Outreach Consultant and the Regional Training Consultants to research select and when necessary design instructional modules for professional development for school personnel for crisis prevention preparedness and response.

• This position is required to be proficient in the NASP PREPaRE Model and any other models selected by the Crisis Unit Manager. This position must also be certified to deliver the training on both PREPaRE workshops and any other models used by the Unit.

• This position works with the CSSRCs School Outreach Consultant and the Regional Training Consultants to be proficient in all mental health related workshops provided by the CSSRC so that the position can support the Centers work when not providing crisis response training or support.

• This position alerts school staff across the state of the availability of crisis response assistance.

• This assistance may consist of taking the lead in organizing the school response after a crisis when requested or serving in a supporting role in a schools crisis response.

• Responding may include one-on-one or group crisis intervention using a psycho-educational approach.

Note to be considered for this position you must meet one of the following options for consideration.

Education and Experience:

• A masters degree in mental health or closely related field including specific training in crisis response. Official or unofficial transcripts must be submitted at the time of application.
  AND

• Two (2) years of full-time professional behavioral or mental health experience with youth/or youth in K-12 public or private schools.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Additional years of professional experience in schools;

• Leadership experience preferred;

• Ability to work independently with little supervision;

• Ability to build networks and partnerships;

• The applicant must have demonstrated knowledge and background in current school safety issues and best practice recommendations;

• Expertise in school emergency operations planning and management.

Conditions of Employment

• Applicationsare considered complete and accurate at the time of submission. Therefore additional informationmay notbe solicited or accepted after your application has been received.

• Closing Date:All applications that are received by the closing of this announcement will be reviewed against the Minimum Qualifications in this announcement. Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications may proceed to the next step. Colorado Revised Statutes require that state employees are hired and promoted based on merit and fitness through a comparative analysis process.

• Supplemental Question:Effective responses to Supplemental Questions will directly relate to your professional experience career accomplishments and views about organizational values and approaches and how they relate specifically to this position and requirements as you understand them. Answers generated by AI-tools will typically be unresponsive.

• Transcripts:An unofficial copy of transcripts must be submitted at the time of application should education be used as qualification. Transcripts from colleges or universities outside the United States must be assessed for U.S. equivalency by a NACES educational credential evaluation service. This documentation is the responsibility of the applicant and must be included as part of your application materials. Failure to provide a transcript or credential evaluation report may prevent your application from moving forward in the selection process.

• Military Veterans:If you are a military veteran you must submit a copy of your DD-214 Member 4 Copy and VA disability letter if available/applicable at the time of application so we can determine if you are eligible for veterans preference points. Military personnel who are stationed outside of Colorado may be eligible for this position by submitting the completed DD-2058 State of Legal Residence form.

• Application Tips: For an overview of State of Colorado application process and application tips please view thisvideo.

• Resumes Cover Lettersor other documents submittedwillnotbe reviewed assessed or used in the initial stages of the comparative analysis (transcripts submitted to verify that the applicant meets either the education requirement or minimum qualification substitution are exempt from this).

• Notifications:All correspondence regarding your status in the selection/examination process will be sent via email to theemail address listed on your application. Include your current working email addresson your application and check the email provided on your application frequently as you could receive time sensitive correspondence regarding this position. We highly recommend that you set up your email to accept messages from and addresses. It is your responsibility to ensure that your email will accept these notices and/or review your junk mail and spam filtered email.

• Comparative Analysis Stepsmayinclude(dates subject to change):

  • Structured application review by a panel of SMEs - Week of December 19th

  • Spark Hire (online one-way interview) - Week of December 22nd

  • Panel interview - January 8th