The goal of the CARE Team is to serve as a resource team to students that are in need of support beyond academics. CARE Team members are able to link students with resources in the community to provide needed assistance. Common areas of support include shelter/housing and mental health referrals, among others. The idea is to intervene and provide support before these students develop more serious academic or personal problems.

Retention Alert is for Faculty & Staff to report students struggling with personal challenges which are likely to interfere with their ability to perform academically. A Retention Alert should also be submitted for students needing help to make good decisions about their class registration due to personal challenges. The form is located in Self-Service, navigate to the Retention Alert tab, search for a student using their student ID number and choose the Contribute Retention Info tab. Submitting this form will prompt outreach to the student by a CARE team member. The CARE team consists of student services staff trained to offer support, guidance and resources when students are faced with personal challenges that interfere with their classroom performance.

Students can self-report for assistance by using the Need Help? form, located under the Current Students tab on the website.

HCC’s CARE Team has established guidelines to assist staff when to make a referral. This list is not an all-inclusive list but will provide examples of specific situations which would warrant a referral.

Referral Guidelines May Include:

• Emotional Indicators
  • Direct statements of distress, family problems or other difficulties
  • Unprovoked anger or hostility
  • Exaggerated personality traits: more withdrawn or more animated than usual
  • Expressions of concern about a student by his/her peers
  • A hunch or gut-level reaction that something is wrong
• Physical Indicators
  • Deterioration of physical appearance
  • Lack of personal hygiene
  • Excessive fatigue
  • Visible changes in weight
  • Bleary-eyed, hung over or smelling of alcohol
• Safety Risk Indicators
  • Any written note or verbal statement which has a sense of finality or a suicidal flavor
  • Essays/papers which focus on despair, suicide, or death
  • Statements to the effect that the student is “going away for a long time”
  • Giving away of prized possessions
  • Self-injuries or self-destructive behaviors
  • Severe depressions
     

Additional Resources

• Disruptive Behavior in the Classroom
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Community Resources, Hotlines, and Helplines
   

Student Resources

• Student Assistance Form