In 2005, the Death Notification and Survivor Care Program was awarded a low-cost contract to provide the United States Army with a range of services addressing death notification and survivor care.
In order to secure this contract, create the clinical content and produce the training, the Death Notification and Survivor Care Program (DNSCP) first conducted a needs-assessment of the United States Armed Forces casualty notification training. This included a comprehensive review of procedures, protocols and practices. In collaboration with the Army, the DNSCP has helped augment and revise procedures and trainings to facilitate compassionate, contemporary and effective practices.
The program created, refined and deployed a five-module curriculum tailored for real-time access by Casualty Notification Officers (CNOs) via a toll-free telephone number. The program recorded, packaged and distributed an audio training CD to 50 casualty assistance centers in United States and abroad, and implemented web-based, multimedia training courses for on-demand training of all Army personnel involved in death notification and survivor care.
The five modules address the following areas relevant to death notification and survivor care: general guidelines of the United States Armed Forces for the delivery of casualty notifications; understanding and managing immediate grief reactions of next of kin at the time of notification; notifying spouses, partners and parents; notifying children; and understanding the role of differences in culture and spirituality when informing a next-of-kin.
In the coming months the program will conduct evaluation research jointly with the Army's Casualty Assistance program, to determine the impact of telephone and web-based training on the competence of United States Army casually notification officers in performing their sensitive duty.
The DNSCP has also developed a close collaborative relationship with the leadership of the New York Police Department Training Academy. The goal of this partnership is to provide all NYPD police academy recruits, approximately 3000 annually, with systematic training in compassionate practices in death notification and survivor care. NYPD will implement the same component training modules originally developed for the United States Army, as modified to conform to NYPD policies.
The program is providing the NYPD Academy with an audio CD training tool, a set of web-based on-demand seminars, and live web-classroom training. In a joint initiative, London Metropolitan Police and NYPD Training Academy will coordinate these efforts with our program, launching site-specific versions of the training materials in the same time frame. These two leading establishments are greatly influential in international law enforcement circles and it is anticipated that with successful implementation in London and New York, the DSNCP will be well positioned to influence death notification and survivor care practices throughout the law enforcement community in America and globally.
The Metropolitan Police Service are very grateful to Alexsis de Raadt St. James for sharing the Death Notification Program which was developed over 24 months. It's content and structure were modelled on a system developed at the University of California San Francisco by Dr. Charles Marmar. The program has been adopted by the United States Armed Forces. The system and the service has been provided free of charge to the Met. by Alexsis. She established the Althea Foundation www.theafoundation.org in 2001 following 9/11 to support and train the men and women who are called upon to do death notifications.
Telling a fellow human being that someone close, someone they love or someone they care for is dead is probably one of the most traumatic and difficult moments in that persons life. When there is a chance or an expectation that a person could have to break this news, then explain the circumstances (as they know at the time), it can result in anxiety and on occasion fear. Consideration must be given to their reaction, which is always an unknown owing to the unique challenges of ensuring that individual needs are considered and supported.
Within the United Kingdom Police Officers undertake this role daily, many for the first time. Their own experience of bereavement can be limited, yet there is an understandable expectation that they will carry out this duty to the highest possible professional standard. 'Delivering the Message...' is one of the hardest jobs you will have to do and the provision of a telephone helpline which is easily accessible and clear in the objective advice given must be seen as an important element of support for the deliverers prior, during and after delivering the message.
Within the Metropolitan Police Service we are particularly grateful for having this helpline and as Family Liaison Officers (FLOs) appreciate entirely how difficult this role can be.
'Respect for the dead and relatives of those who have died, especially where the death has been unexpected, is indeed the mark of a civilised society'
~Public enquiry re Marchioness disaster on 20th August 1989.
Sewell Joan
Family Liaison Advisor
Metropolitan Police Service