December 14, 2020 - The Upper Canada District School Board, along with its community partners, held a virtual ceremony on Dec. 11 and signed the updated Violence Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA) Protocol. This protocol is a collaborative response to assessing potential violence, aimed at reducing violence and keeping our community safe.
The VTRA protocol is a community threat assessment protocol that supports collaborative planning among schools, community partners, families, children and youth to reduce violence and promotes supportive and preventive plans to reduce acts of violence. The protocol also fosters timely sharing of information about a child or youth who poses a risk for violence towards themselves or others, and includes a process that works to anticipate and identify whether an individual is moving on a path towards serious violence before a violent act occurs.
This protocol reflects the work of J. Kevin Cameron, Director of the Canadian Centre for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response.
Cameron joined the Dec. 11 signing and commended the UCDSB and its partners for its commitment to reducing violence and supporting their communities before and during traumatic events.
“The VTRA is the only trauma-informed threat assessment in existence,” he said. Cameron has done widespread VTRA training in Canada and across the United States and gave praise to how Canadian stakeholders have adopted these measures to build and support safer communities.
The current protocol was originally developed on October 2011 with the 2020 updated version including a revision of language and format as well as a renewal of each of the 19 local stakeholders’ commitment.
“This work is a testament to the relationships and collaboration among community stakeholders, with support and guidance from the North American Centre for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response and most especially J. Kevin Cameron,” said UCDSB Chief Psychologist Alison Inglis.
Media inquiries can be directed to:
April Scott-Clarke
Manager of Communications
Upper Canada District School Board
www.ucdsb.on.ca