Getting help for yourself or a friend at Indiana University can happen just by the click of a computer mouse. The IU Care Referral program, created by the Division of Student Affairs, is a way to request help for any issues or concerns someone may be facing. These types of issues can include academic, financial, emotional and mental concerns.
“A care referral is one of the ways that a Hoosier can get help for another Hoosier that they’re concerned about,or, help for themselves,” DeeDee Dayhoff said. Dayhoff serves as the Assistant Dean for Student Services and Concerns.
During the 2018-2019 academic year, the care referral team received just over 3,000 care referrals. They saw an increase during the 2019-2020 academic year, when just over 4,000 care referrals were filed. This semester, the care referral team receives around 100 care referrals per week.
“It’s steadily increased over time, which is wonderful. That means the more people know about it, the more people are using it,” Dayhoff said.
Care referrals can be submitted on a student’s own behalf or on behalf of another student, which Dayhoff is always happy to see.
“When we talk about IU’s Culture of Care, we talk about not being a by-stander and if you see something, you say something and do something,” Dayhoff said. “I’m always delighted when I see those because that’s what that looks like in practice.”
Referrals can also be submitted by family members, students from other campuses who are concerned about a student who goes to IU and faculty and staff on behalf of another student.
Care referrals serve as an important resource for faculty and staff to check in on students they’re concerned about. Just ask Galen Clavio, the director of undergraduate studies at The Media School, who says it’s a way for faculty to know how a student is doing.
“This gives us a way to surreptitiously file a report and not make a huge deal out of it,” he said. “You contact the university and let them know, ‘Hey, we might want to check on this and make sure everything’s ok.’”
Hear from Dr. Galen Clavio on why it’s important for multiple resources to be offered to students when they experience a variety of struggles.
Professionals from various IU organizations make up the care referral team such as:
The team meets every week for several hours to review the care referrals and coordinate which resources to offer students.
Once the care team receives the referral, they reach out to the student of concern with information about resources and invite them to meet with one of the deans in the Student of Division Affairs office. During that meeting, professionals learn about the student’s situation and provide important campus and community resources that might benefit them.
“Cases can be lots of things, such as a student needing an outreach email all the way up to concerns of immediate safety, like concern for students who may be suicidal. These may require a welfare check,” Dayhoff said.
Care referrals can be filed anonymously, an advantage for some individuals.
“I think sometimes people are afraid to speak up when it’s not anonymous or when they’re worried they’re going to get dragged into having to report something more serious,” Clavio said.
A portion of the care referral form that students, family members or faculty and staff can fill out.
To file a care referral, head to the Student Support section of the Division of Student Affairs website and click on “Submit a care referral”. You’ll be asked to provide a description of the incident, event, or situation that has prompted you to fill out a care referral as well as upload any documents or images that could support your description. You will also need to fill out an approximate date and time the event or situation occurred.
In a time where added stress is piled onto students’ plates, it’s important to know there are people, and a university, willing to reach out a helping hand.
“As much as it’s easier to criticize universities for being kind of these faceless, behemoth enterprises, this is an example I think where they’ve really created something that can be helpful to people and something that can help to address these emotional and mental needs as well as other needs,” Clavio said.
DeeDee Dayhoff talks about how successful the care referral program has been and the benefits it provides to the IU community.
