CARE Team

At GW, we aim to create a community that cares for each other. The CARE Team fosters this goal by creating a pathway through which students who may need additional support can be identified and referred to the most appropriate services. Through the CARE Team, students are given the support they need to persist and succeed at GW and beyond.

The program administrators that lead the CARE Team are also currently managing the GW Cares Student Assistance Fund, a donor-supported fund launched in March to support students who are in immediate need of temporary, short-term, financial assistance to help cover unanticipated essential expenses that have occurred as a result of the pandemic.

The CARE Team is not an emergency system.

Reports are monitored Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 am and 6:00 pm. If a report requires immediate outreach or follow-up or is an emergency please contact GWPD at 202-994-6111.

The CARE Team

How Does It Work?

Students, parents, faculty, and staff can identify students that may need additional support through the CARE Team’s online form. The CARE Team is a cross-departmental support system that recognizes that student concerns are often multi-faceted. Students are connected to resources through inter-departmental collaboration to provide them with appropriate and personalized outreach.

Based on the type of support needed, a student is connected to a trained staff member who works with them one-on-one for as long as they may need the help.

What happens when I submit a CARE Referral?

When a CARE Referral is submitted, a case manager reviews the information in the referral form, references any past referrals, and makes a determination about who is the most appropriate person to reach out to the student. The CARE Team works with partners in all academic advising offices, Campus Living & Residential Education, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Disability Support Services; the Office of Military and Veteran Affairs; Counseling and Psychological Services; Student Health Service among others. The case manager often manages complex or multifaceted cases where multiple offices may need to be involved to most appropriately support the student of concern.

The student then receives outreach from an appropriate campus partner. If you feel that the behavior of the student has persisted following your referral submission, please submit a follow-up referral.

It is important to note that while every CARE Referral that is submitted receives the appropriate outreach and follow-up, we cannot make a student respond to the outreach provided, outside of a threat to self or others.

Frequently Asked Questions

Academic indicators include:

  • Sudden decline in quality of work or grades

  • Repeated absences

  • Multiple requests for extensions on assignments

  • Overly demanding of faculty and staff time and attention

  • Disturbing content in writing or presentation (i.e. violence, death, etc.)

  • Continuous classroom disruptions

 

Physical indicators include:

  • Marked changes in physical appearance, including deterioration in grooming, hygiene, or weight change

  • Excessive fatigue/sleep disturbance

  • Intoxication, hangovers, or smelling of alcohol

  • Disoriented or “out of it”

  • Garbled, tangential, disconnected, or slurred speech

  • Behavior is out of context or bizarre

 

Psychological indicators include:

  • Self-disclosure of personal distress such as family problems, financial difficulties, grief, or relationship issues

  • Unusual/disproportionate emotional response to events

  • Excessive tearfulness or panic reactions

  • Irritability or unusual apathy

  • Verbal abuse (i.e. taunting, badgering, intimidation)

  • Expression of concern about the student by their peers

  • Delusions and paranoia

CARE referrals can be submitted anonymously; individuals who are submitting the report are not required to provide their information.

Yes. CARE Referrals can be submitted for any student (graduate or undergraduate) at GW.

The CARE Team is exclusively for current GW students. If you have a concern about the behavior of a GW staff or faculty member, please email [email protected].

The CARE Team can be reached at [email protected] or 202-994-6555.

The GW Cares Student Assistance Fund

Through a separate federal government program, GW has been allocated approximately $9.1 million from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). Please note: The federal government CARES Act program is not related to the GW Cares Student Assistance Fund.

The GW Cares Student Assistance fund was created to support students who are in immediate need of temporary, short-term, financial assistance to cover essential expenses due to an emergency. Funding is available to students who meet the following criteria:

  • Currently enrolled as a degree-seeking full-time or part-time undergraduate or graduate student at the George Washington University, in any undergraduate or graduate program
  • Experiencing unexpected financial hardship resulting from an unforeseen emergency 

Examples of expenses that may be covered (non-exhaustive):

  • Emergency medical and dental expenses
  • Technology/equipment needed to ensure continuity of education
  • Academic/Educational essentials
  • Essential personal belongings/medications
  • Travel expenses due to emergency
  • Safety needs
  • Temporary food assistance
  • Temporary housing (outside of existing housing expenses prior to emergency)

Examples of expenses not covered (non-exhaustive):

  • Expenses incurred prior to the emergency
  • Non-essential utilities
  • Expenses not related to status as a GW Student
  • Tuition (tuition need is administered by the Office of Student Financial Assistance)
  • Health insurance

Awards typically range between $500 and $1,000.

The GW Cares Student Assistance Fund is spent at the discretion of the Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students. The award process outlined above is facilitated by staff designated by the Vice President and Dean. Each application is reviewed individually by designated staff with urgency toward time-sensitive student needs. The Office of Student Financial Assistance is consulted to verify prioritization of greatest student need.

 

Apply for the GW Cares Student Assistance Fund