Handle With Care is looking to expand to more schools in Alabama

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) – A local organization that helps traumatized children is looking to further expand one of its programs across Alabama.

Handle With Care, a program launched in West Virginia in 2013, works with law enforcement and school staff to help children who have experienced traumatic experiences.

The National Children’s Advocacy Center launched Handle With Care in Alabama in 2022, which its coordinator Kelli Mukkadam said was needed in the region.

“Children in our community are exposed to violence and potentially traumatic events, then they go to school and those experiences are reflected in the classroom,” Mukkadam said. “Teachers have to deal with how children respond to trauma in the community and not knowing what’s going on.”

Handle With Care Alabama now works with five different school districts and their law enforcement agencies, including Huntsville City and Madison County Schools.

The process begins when a first responder sees a child at the scene of a potentially traumatic event. They send a note to the child’s school with the three words “handle with care.”

Teachers then look for trauma symptoms and send the child to a counselor or psychotherapist if the child needs additional support.

Mukaddam said the program has been a success so far, with 81 notices received at over 30 schools this school year alone.

“That little note that said, ‘Handle with caution,’ really helped them navigate a situation that could have become a disciplinary issue or a major disruption in the classroom, and they are able to provide services and resources to the child before it becomes a classroom event,” she said.

Before Handle With Care partnered with schools in Huntsville City and Madison County, Mukaddam wanted to start smaller, and Madison City fit the bill.

“I researched the background of the program and found that it has been successful wherever it has been tried, and us using it here was just common sense,” Police Chief Johnny Gandy said. “It’s a great program to inform schools that when they notice behavior that is not normal for that particular child, they know that it was the result of a traumatic situation that the child witnessed or was in that it was actually involved.”

Mukaddam wants to expand the program to Tuscaloosa City and Randolph County. Their ultimate goal is to reach the entire state and get every child the help they need.

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