Office of Student Affairs is bettering their mental health outreach in several ways. One of these is by updating the CARE report process, a means through which the students, faculty and administration can bring attention to students they are concerned about. One of these updates is the hiring of Anna Sales, new case manager and administrative assistant for the Office of Student Affairs.
The Care Team is a partnership that includes Dr. Gregory Roper, dean of students, Dr. Matthew Spring, director of academic success, Dr. David Andrews, associate dean of Constantin College, Sarah Baker, director of residence life, Andrew von Weber-Hahnsberg and Bethany Weinand, residence coordinators, and Jonathan Sumpter, director of the counseling center, according to Roper.
CARE reports can be submitted via email, phone call or by simply having a conversation with a member of the team. As case manager, Sales keeps track of the CARE reports, which allows the Care Team to more effectively follow up with students.
The hope is that the UD community will function more smoothly if the needs of students are met.
Maintaining the database of CARE reports and ensuring reports are followed up on was a joint effort by Roper and Spring prior to the hiring of Sales.
“That in the past had been done by Dr. Spring and me. With all of everything else we’re doing, we realized that we needed somebody who’s really good at this,” said Roper. “Already I can tell you she’s just been [amazing] in everything she’s doing up here.”
Sumpter spoke to the need for a case manager. “Responding to individuals in need is a time sensitive effort,” he said. “The Dean of Students is often away from his desk, in meetings, attending to other students’ issues or struggles, etc. There are also times where all of our UDCC therapists and the Health Clinic are booked solid, attending to individuals in need.”
Sales was hired at the beginning of the 2023-2024 academic year and subsequently changes were made to improve the CARE report system.
“We’ve created a new tracking system that’s confidential. I just wanted to make a note of that: all cases that are referred to the Care Team [are] confidential, so only the Care Team has access to this tracking system,” said Sales. “I’ve made [the tracking system] so that it’s very user-friendly […] so we’re able to see the process where we’re at in terms of contacting the students that have been referred to us. We’re able to put a status if [the case has] been started with, if it’s been ongoing, if it’s been completed.”
With effective prioritization, the Care Team can direct the student in the appropriate direction, whether that be to academic success, counseling and/or campus ministry. Once the student’s needs are met, the Care Team can close the case. However, should the student need help from the Care Team again, their case can be reopened.
“My appeal to students would be [to] help us by being our eyes and ears,” said Roper. “We have this great community here where students really do care for each other. Students really do watch out for each other, and I think the best thing is for them to know that this process is here, that these resources are here. So, if they have concerns about a friend, a classmate, somebody in the dorm, if they just see that somebody’s struggling, this is the best way to get them noticed and to get them to allow us to get them some resources that can help them.”
“I just want to encourage students, staff [or] faculty to never hesitate to file a CARE report,” Sales said. “Don’t ever think that something is too small or not concerning to us. We will look into every case that’s been referred to us, and we’ll make sure that we follow up with those students.”
You can file a CARE report by emailing care@udallas.edu or calling (972) 721-5323. All CARE reports are confidential.