CHARLESTON, W.Va–A new initiative called Handle With Care was unveiled this afternoon at the WV State Police Academy in Dunbar.
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, State Police Colonel Jay Smithers, and Federal Prosecutor Booth Goodwin all spoke in praise of the program which will aim to quickly provide help to children who experience trauma as a result of violence or crime in their homes. As part of the new program, police will note the name, age, address and school for every child they encounter as part of a crime scene.
Tomblin said the program will help children that are affected by home issues sooner rather than later.
“We always say we’d rather keep our children in the classroom and not in the courtroom,” he said. “This is one way to intervene early on with these children who are having problems at home. It’s the cause of a lot of embarrassment and a lot of pain. This way they can get help right away in the community.”
State Police spokesman Michael Baylous said that the initiate helps police tremendously, because they previously never knew how to deal with children at crime scenes.
“This is a fantastic new initiative,” he said. “Before we really didn’t have many tools that we could use when we showed up at these scenes and we found these children obviously living in a situation where there was violence or trauma.
Tomblin said eventually he wants Handle With Care to be a statewide program. Goodwin stressed the importance of identifying children that have been affected by trauma early, and keeping them on the right track.
The program will serve as a resource for police, schools, and guidance counselors alike, and will allow educators to watch for signs of problems resulting from traumatic events.