This is the part of the intervention with the strongest evidence behind it, and the part most likely to be skipped.
It happens with the caregiver, usually by phone, often after the student has gone home.
Go through all five
Do not stop at firearms, and do not stop at "we don't have any of that."
For each one: what will be done, who is doing it, and by when. A plan without a name and a date on it is a conversation.
Firearms. Out of the house, or locked with ammunition stored separately and the key held by an adult.
Medication, all of it. Prescriptions and everything over the counter, including vitamins, ibuprofen and acetaminophen. Locked, and the quantity known.
Items that could be used for hanging or suffocation. Name these directly, because caregivers rarely think of them on their own.
Sharps. Knives, razors, scissors.
Poisons and chemicals. Cleaning products, garage and shed, vehicle fluids.
Anything else the student named. Their plan is the best source. Ask them.
Confirm it. Do not assume it.
Caregivers agree to this on the phone more readily than they do it.
✓ Take Action. On the follow-up, ask directly: "Did you get a chance to do the things we talked about with the medications?" Not "how are things going." See Module 9.3.
How to frame it
"This is not punishment. It is a way to make the home safer while your child is struggling."
Temporary, specific, and reversible. A caregiver who hears "permanent" will negotiate. A caregiver who hears "while she is struggling" will act.
If the caregiver cannot be reached
Record every attempt with a time. If nobody has been reached by the end of the school day, record what you did instead, who else was notified, and who is responsible for continuing to try.
A student does not go home to an unprepared house because a phone was not answered.
See Module 7.1 on why unreachable is often a wrong assumption.
