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County seeks $47,000 grant to expand anonymous tip line, threat-assessment tools for schools
Summary
Cochise County staff asked supervisors to move a Navigate360 contract from consent to action so the county can use grant funding for anonymous tip reporting, threat-assessment case management and training in local schools; staff said Sandy Hook Promise Crisis Center would field anonymous tips.
County education and public-safety staff on Thursday described a proposal to contract with Navigate360 to provide behavioral-health and threat-assessment technology for school districts, funded in part by a grant.
Cynthia Myers, representing the county schools/superintendent''s office, said the county received a roughly $47,000 grant to pay for the behavioral-health portion of the Emergency Management Suite platform. That portion includes an anonymous tip-reporting tool, a threat-assessment case-management system, train-the-trainer threat-assessment instruction and suicide-prevention resources.
Myers said the anonymous tip line would be staffed by the Sandy Hook Promise Crisis Center, which county staff and educators believe increases trust because tips remain anonymous and are handled outside the school system. "All of the research shows that in order for these anonymous tip lines to work in schools, that it really has to be anonymous," Myers said.
Myers said Douglas Unified School District previously piloted a tip line but assigned school staff to field reports due to cost, which limited usage; Douglas reported roughly 10 to 20 tips per week during higher-volume periods. County staff said the new arrangement would centralize tip handling with the crisis center while giving school districts a case-management platform so behavioral-threat information would follow students who change schools.
The contract with Navigate360 was described as additional services (an amendment/new contract tied to an existing vendor relationship) and was likely to be moved from the consent agenda to action so supervisors could consider approval at a future meeting. Staff said the $47,000 grant is intended to pay technology and consulting fees; the total grant packet and procurement materials were included in the board''s meeting packet for members to review.
No final contract approval was recorded at the work session; supervisors asked clarifying questions about tip volume, data handling and who would field tips. Staff said the Sandy Hook Promise Crisis Center would handle incoming tips and that the platform is intended for reports including bullying, suicide risk and other student-safety concerns.
