Meet the SAFE Team

The Moreno Valley College Student Assessment, Facilitation, and Evaluation (SAFE) Team is a multi-disciplinary group of campus professionals that work in a proactive and collaborative approach to respond to campus community concerns. The SAFE Team works to intervene early and develop appropriate courses of action for referred students. The team strives to promote individual student wellbeing and success while prioritizing community safety. 

The SAFE Team functions as an interdisciplinary at-risk behavioral assessment and support system, focused on early intervention, as well as threat assessment. The team tracks data and examines patterns, trends, and disturbances in individual or group behavior. The team receives reports of disruptive, problematic, or concerning behavior or misconduct (from colleagues, community members, friends, etc.), investigates, performs a threat assessment, and determines the best mechanisms for support, intervention, warning, or notification, and response. The team then deploys its resources and community resources and coordinates follow-up.

The SAFE Team will assess the referral and make a determination about a course of action to proceed in helping the individual and the campus community. If there is a mental health concern, specialized members of the team will provide follow-up and resources to the individual. If a crime is alleged, the police will investigate and, when appropriate, the student may be prosecuted.

Similarly, if a violation of the Student Code of Conduct is alleged, the student may be subject to disciplinary action. If it is assessed that the individual's presence on campus or participation in campus activities may threaten campus health or safety, or significantly disrupt campus activities or functions, immediate steps will be taken to protect the campus community.

To fulfill its purpose, the SAFE Team accepts the following responsibilities:

• Receive, review, and catalogue information about concerns regarding student behavior.
• Perform initial assessment of risk and refer cases to offices and officials as needed for additional assessment.
• Define a plan or response to address the needs of both the student and the safety of the campus community.
• Implement response with the intent to de-escalate a potential crisis, reduce or remove threats, and attend to the needs of the individual who is demonstrating disturbed or disturbing behavior.
• Make recommendations to university officials on appropriate actions consistent with university policies and procedures.
• Engage in ongoing refinement of Team procedures and protocols to foster optimal SAFE Team functioning and interface with the college community.
• Coordinate case management, support and resources to facilitate SAFE Team recommendations.

SAFE is not an emergency response team. If this is an emergency, you are in need of immediate assistance, or there is the threat of imminent danger to self or others, please call 9-1-1 or contact Campus Police at (951) 222-8171.

• To intervene early and provide support and response to students displaying varying levels of disruptive, disturbed, distressed and/or deregulated behaviors.
• To respond with SAFE and respect.
• To assess the potential for violent or self-harming behaviors while avoiding stigmatizing mental health issues and stereotype-based profiling.
• To adhere to a formalized protocol for referral, assessment, communication, coordination and intervention.
• To balance student confidentiality and privacy with the college’s need-to-know and emergency communication needs.
• To engage faculty, staff, and students in effective response with respect to disruptive or distressed students.