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The CARE Team

Providing Student Advocacy, Care, and Support

The St. Thomas CARE Team is a campus-wide group collaborating on identification, assessment, intervention, and referral of students experiencing challenging circumstances that may affect their holistic well-being, safety, or academic success.

Emergencies

If you are in an emergency and need immediate help with the person you care about, contact Public Safety at 651-962-5555 for On-Campus issues OR 911 for Off-Campus issues.

Mental Health concerns can be directed to the Center for Well-Being 651-962-6750. Live counselors are available 24/7.

How To Refer Someone

Call, email, or walk-in:
651-962-6050; deanstudents@stthomas.edu
Anderson Student Center (ASC) 241

You can expect a response within 24 hours of the next business day.

You can refer any student at St. Thomas, including yourself. (DFC students can be referred to Brad Pulles, Associate Dean of Students.)

Turning Roadblocks into Stepping Stones

What does the CARE Team do?

The CARE Team provides case management and referral services to students experiencing challenging circumstances that may affect their holistic well-being, safety, or academic success.

We work one-on-one with students to identify the challenge(s), collect available information regarding the circumstances and resources, then partner in developing a plan of action to mitigate the circumstance. We advocate, care for, and support the student, using the approach that fits the situation - this may involve coaching, collaboration, boundary setting, or connecting with useful resources. Above all, we respect the dignity of the student with whom we are working.

The CARE Team can address a wide range of concerns, including (but not limited to):

  • Academic Issues such as: struggles with homework, conflict with professors, and excessive concern with grades. (NOTE: Concerns about a student's academic performance or classroom engagement should be submitted to the Academic Counseling attendance alert system within One St. Thomas. Please refer to the Faculty Guide to Student Alerts found in the Reference Materials in the Advising Essentials drop-down list on the ADViZE webpage.)
  • Emotional Well-being and Mental Health
  • Physical Health or Wellness Matters such as: too much or too little sleep, change in eating habits, signs of self-harm, change in personal hygiene
  • Spiritual Health
  • Discipline or Behavioral Issues
  • Death or illness of a loved one
  • Roommate Conflicts
  • Financial issues such as: food or housing insecurity or unexpected challenges related to finances
  • Personal Safety, including any condition that compromises the health, safety, well-being or a student's capacity to engage in learning

What can you help with?

If you (or a friend or loved one) are dealing with a concern for something not listed above...please reach out to us! There is no issue too big or small to bring to the CARE Team.

We follow up within 1 business day on every referral submitted and direct concerns to the most appropriate campus partners based on the nature of the referral. We share details only with the individuals who have an active role in supporting the student.

Helping Someone You Know

For Family Members

Family Members are welcome and encouraged to contact the CARE Team with any concerns they have about their student.

Confidentiality

FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, prohibits university faculty and staff from sharing educational records (grades, class attendance, etc.) with any third party without the students' written consent.

In addition, HIPAA law protects patient health information, including both physical and mental health.

We believe that every individual has the right to address their concerns, issues, or situation privately, and federal laws hold us to those standards.

Frequently Asked Questions / FAQs

Contact us via phone, email, or walk-in:

651-962-6050
deanstudents@stthomas.edu
Anderson Student Center (ASC) 241

You can expect a response within 24 hours of the next business day.

Please note you can refer yourself, a friend, a roommate, your student, your student's friend, or any undergraduate or graduate student at St. Thomas. (DFC students can be referred to Brad Pulles, Associate Dean of Students.)

You can never go wrong by referring a student to the CARE Team. In addition, there are two other important resources available to assist a student:

  1. Any faculty member concerned about a student's academic performance or classroom engagement (including absences) should use the academic alert system. See the Faculty Guide to Student Alerts.
  2. If an emergency requires immediate help, contact Public Safety at 651-962-5555 for On-Campus issues OR 911 for Off-Campus issues. Mental Health concerns can also be directed to the Center for Well-Being 651-962-6750; live counselors are available 24/7.

If you think something is worrisome, or if the behavior concerns you, follow through and contact the CARE Team.

We document and follow up on every referral submitted to the CARE Team. We direct concerns to the most appropriate campus partners based on the nature of the referral.

We take student confidentiality seriously and may be limited to what we can share with you, but please know that we will follow up with the student you have referred. We encourage you to ask the person you have referred how they are doing and how you can support them.

You can submit concerns anonymously though we can be most helpful and effective if we have your information to follow up with you directly. Students sometimes want to know how information came to the attention of the CARE Team. Knowing who brought the concern forward can help students move through the process.

Bias incident reports can be submitted online

If you have more questions, you can learn about bias incident reporting at St. Thomas.

Reports of sexual discrimination, harassment, and assault should be directed to the Title IX Coordinator:

Julie Thornton, Title IX Coordinator
Room 217, Aquinas Hall
title-ix@stthomas.edu
(651) 962-6882

The St. Thomas Title IX website has more information about Title IX at the University, including the Sexual Misconduct Policy, Online Training, and Online or Anonymous Reports of violations of the Sexual Misconduct Policy.

The CARE Team advocates on behalf of a student and coordinates support from many groups across campus including the Center for Well-Being. The Center for Well-Being is an integrated health and well-being center that provides Health, Counseling and Psychological Services as well as Heath Promotion, Resilience and Violence Prevention.

Sometimes it is beneficial and/or necessary to involve a family member in the development of a student care and success plan; we call this a Family Meeting. Students play an active role in facilitating the family meeting. A family meeting is generally not the first step in the CARE Team process.

When that happens, the Dean of Students office will coordinate a family meeting with the appropriate campus partners (i.e. Center for Well-Being, Residence Life, Academic Counseling, Disability Resources, etc.). The goal of a family meeting is to develop a plan of action for the student to experience holistic well-being, safety, and/or academic success.

Remember that college is a time of major transition for students; it normal to need help and healthy to request it. We work with hundreds of students each year and remain open to talking with you.

You can always directly contact any individual members of the CARE Team. Additional resources include: