The Crisis Response Unit exists to assist schools in overall crisis management, from preparing and preventing incidents to responding to and helping with a school’s post crisis needs.
The Unit is composed of experienced school mental health professionals vetted, and trained by the Office of School Safety.
Planning for Crisis
The Crisis Response Unit is available for assistance in establishing school safety teams (also called the Incident Command System) and Crisis Response Teams within schools. Establishing these teams ahead of time allows for a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities during crisis events, provides a common language for emergency responses, and streamlines coordination with outside agencies.
Response Services
Mental Health Support
- Crisis Response Unit staff are available, for a limited time per incident, to assist in the initial recovery period following a crisis incident when additional mental health resources are needed.
Critical Incident Group Debriefing (CIGD) for staff
- Critical Incident Group Debriefing or CIGD, is a short-term psychoeducational process that focuses on an immediate event. This group debriefing process provides a place for participants to talk and share experiences, and for the facilitator to teach and provide information about the impact of critical incidents. Please see the following document for more on CIGD: Description of Stress Debriefing.
We look forward to serving our Colorado schools
Trainings Offered
The Crisis Response Unit is available to train school staff in best practices in crisis prevention and response. Below are the trainings offered.
- The PREPaRE model, established by the National Association of School Psychologists for educators. Free of cost to you, the following two workshops are available to your school:
- Workshop One, Comprehensive School Safety Planning Prevention Through Recovery: This one-day workshop, designed primarily for administrators and safety team members, addresses critical components needed to develop, exercise and evaluate safety and crisis teams plans.
- Workshop Two, Mental Health Crisis Interventions. Responding to an Acute Traumatic Stressor in Schools: This two-day workshop, designed primarily for mental health professionals, helps to develop the knowledge and skills required to provide immediate mental health crisis interventions to students, staff, and school community members who have been exposed to an acute traumatic stressor.
- Crisis Response Plan Template: Designed to provide K-12 school districts with essentials in writing crisis response plans, including sample policies, procedures, and crisis-related resources. Required 1 hour training on writing crisis response plans in order to access the template.
- Crisis Response Skills for Varying Ages: This two-hour training helps prepare crisis responders to work with adults and students from Pre-K to 12th grade. Participants will learn crisis interventions and strategies for varied age groups and will have the opportunity to practice those strategies and skills.
- Psychological First Aid (PFA): An evidence-based approach to help students, staff, and community members in the immediate aftermath of a crisis. Options for PFA range from a brief two-hour training of the essentials of the model up to a full-day comprehensive training.
- Calm-Engage-Distract: Provides information on pediatric distress and developmentally appropriate strategies for responding to children in crisis. A brief training for educators on how to calm students after a critical incident.
Other Resources
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Understanding Child Traumatic Stress: A Guide for Parents
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Child Trauma Toolkit for Educators
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Understanding Trauma Responses in Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools
- National Association of School Psychologists: NASP School Safety and Crisis Resources
- National Center for School Safety: Returning to School After a Crisis: A Guide to Addressing Traumatic Events at School
- Campus Safety: False Los Angeles Wildfire Evacuation Warnings Spark Panic
Meet the Crisis Response Unit
Crisis Response Unit Manager
Kati Garner, M. Ed., 303-909-3672 - kati.garner@state.co.us
Kati obtained a Bachelor's degree from the University of Wyoming as well as a Masters of Education in School Counseling and Licensed Professional Counseling from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. She has worked as a teacher, school counselor and district administrator before joining the Colorado School Safety Resource Center in 2019 as the Northwest Regional Training Consultant. She recently became the Crisis Unit Manager for the Office of Schools safety where she helps support schools and districts across Colorado through crisis planning, response and recovery.
Crisis Response Specialists
Jenny Mills, M.A., LPC, 720-822-2861 - jennifer.mills@state.co.us
Jenny Mills is a Colorado native raising her four boys in the Rocky Mountains. She has spent 14 years in private practice primarily treating victims of traumatic crimes. Jenny has a strong passion for implementing trauma-sensitive care and providing access to mental health support in our Colorado schools. In addition to private practice, Jenny spent the last 6 years as a mental health provider in a local K-12 charter school along with her therapy dog, Scarlet.
Brandi Vos, Ed.S., NCSP, 720-822-2885 - brandi.vos@state.co.us
Brandi is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist with 20 years of experience in schools. Brandi has an Education Specialist degree in School Psychology from the University of Northern Colorado and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has led and participated on crisis teams in the Denver Metro area for the entirety of her career. She is a Crisis Response Specialist for the Colorado Office of School Safety Crisis Response Unit helping schools review, assist in selecting, developing and providing crisis response resources, training and response assistance. Brandi is a National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)’s PREPaRE (I and II) Certified Trainer. As a Colorado native, she loves the mountains and hanging out with her daughter, reading, photography, and learning about new things.
Leah Lefever, LCSW, 720-768-8399 - leah.lefever@state.co.us
Leah was born and raised in Kansas and moved to Colorado 20 years ago. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who obtained her Masters of Social Work from Campbellsville University. She has worked in various roles throughout her career including child protection, forensic social work, crisis response, and education. While working in education, Leah had the opportunity to manage a team of mental health professionals and educate staff on developmental trauma, demonstrating how this knowledge can enhance their effectiveness in working with students both inside and outside the classroom. As a Crisis Response Specialist, Leah is able to assist schools in crisis management, providing crisis response training, and assisting in crisis response.