Saints Care FAQs

No. Legal counsel has clarified the issue for us. FERPA does allow disclosure of educational records to school officials who have a legitimate educational interest in the records such as members of Saints Care.

FERPA protects the educational records of students, but does not cover personal knowledge about a student derived from direct personal experience with the student.

Saints Care respects privacy and confidentiality.

Yes. You do not need to disclose your name or identifying information. However, it might be important for Saints Care to gain more information from you, so you are encouraged to provide your name and contact information.

Concerns brought to Saints Care will be addressed as soon as possible. Typically, the Saints Care team will respond to you within two to three University business days of receiving the referral.

If a student does not respond to any outreach (emails, invitations to meet, etc.), the Saints Care member will revisit the level of care and concern requested. If it is in the student’s best interest to meet with the Saints Care member, then the Saints Care member will take steps to ensure a meeting is held.

Yes, all Saint Martin's University community members, including faculty, staff, students, and families, may submit a referral to Saints Care regarding a Saint Martin's University student.

Yes. Saints Care will connect with you once a referral is received and will update you on outreach to the student.

Yes. We also ask you to complete a Saints Care Referral, as you cannot be sure that the student will follow up with these resources. Due to confidentiality, practitioners cannot disclose if the student has made the appointment.

Counseling and Wellness Center
Saint Raphael Center
360-688-2016

Student Health Center
Burton Hall 102
360-412-6160

The Counseling and Wellness Center and Student Health Center provide confidential support with resources.

Including a brief section/blurb about Saints Care on course syllabi can serve as an efficient and non-threatening means for orienting students to important supportive resources that may be beneficial to them, personally or academically. It also provides faculty with a natural opportunity to discuss Saints Care in the classroom at the beginning of each academic term.

The following is one example of how faculty might introduce Saints Care on syllabi:

Saints Care: Saints Care is a student support network bringing together campus partners - faculty, staff, families and students - to foster the success of each student in their navigation of college life. Our team listens with the ear of the heart, responding to each student's unique needs with compassion and respect. Saints Care embodies the value of community by facilitating a holistic approach to proactively address the academic, social-emotional and  cultural needs of all students. If you are struggling and in need of additional support, or know somebody who is, you may submit a Saints Care Referral at: https://www.stmartin.edu/saints-care. Please note that emergencies and imminent threats to anyone's safety (self or others) should be immediately reported to the Office of Public Safety at 360-438-4555 and/or by calling 911 (the Saints Care page is not monitored 24/7).

Faculty occupy positions of respect in the eyes of students, which confers upon them a special level of credibility and provides them with the opportunity to model adaptive behaviors and attitudes for their students. Talking about Saints Care in the classroom gives faculty members the opportunity to both destigmatize help/care-seeking behavior (which is adaptive for all human beings) and to introduce and model an adaptive, health and growth-oriented vs. stigma/defense-oriented mindset. Faculty should take care to discuss Saints Care and help/care-seeking behavior in general in ways that serve to establish them as adaptive, resourceful and intelligent.

Faculty may initiate Saints Care referrals for any student who appears to be struggling personally and/or academically (which may be due to personal issues; many academic referrals to Saints Care result in the offer of other, non-academic kinds of supports). If a student has made any statements or gestures indicating severe emotional distress, significant impairment, or a potential risk of harm to self or others, a Saints Care referral should always be made (about which you can inform them, so that they aren't surprised and feel valued and supported vs. feeling negatively judged or pathologized). If you are unsure whether a student might benefit from a referral, simply speak with them. The Saints Care network can connect students with a wide variety of different types of academic, clinical, financial and other supportive resources.

If you are unsure as to whether a Saints Care referral might benefit a student, simply initiate a friendly and supportive conversation with them. If a student has made any statements or gestures indicating severe emotional distress, significant impairment, or a potential risk of harm to self or others, a Saints Care referral should always be made (about which you can inform them, so that they aren't surprised and feel valued and supported vs. feeling negatively judged or pathologized). In the case of most potential referrals though, faculty simply can't know whether a student might be in need of additional supports unless they speak with that student directly. Most students will be touched by and grateful for your genuine concern and kind offer of support, even if they state that they do not need or want additional supportive resources.

Most students respond favorably to friendly, good faith offers of support, even if they communicate that they do not need or want to access support services and decline the offer of a Saints Care referral. If you are concerned or think that perhaps you should be concerned about a student, simply reach out to them (e.g., before or after class, by email, etc.) and explain in a warm and supportive manner that you would like to know whether they think that they might benefit from additional supportive resources, such as we all need from time to time.

It can be beneficial to explain to students that the vast majority of human beings will experience above-average levels of objective/environmental stress/demand, emotional distress, and/or impairment multiple times during their lives and that this does not indicate a moral weakness or failing or imply the presence of a diagnosable medical or mental health condition. In fact, it would actually be statistically unusual for a person to go through their entire life without having unmet needs and/or at least a temporary need for increased support. We all need one or more kinds of additional support from time to time and both seeking out and accepting new supports is resourceful and highly adaptive. Where possible, it is ideal to inform students, in advance or at the time of a Saints Care referral, so that they are not surprised and feel valued and supported vs. negatively judged or pathologized.

A Saints Care Manager is appointed for every student referred to Saints Care, who should respond to referring party within approximately 24-72 hours of a referral being made. If you do not receive a response from a Saints Care Manager in a timely manner, you may contact Justin Stern, Saints Care Coordinator, at jstern@stmartin.edu or 360-688-2920 to follow up.

Dr. Michael Butler (Psychology) is the appointed faculty member of the Saints Care team and serves as your faculty liaison to Saints Care. Please feel free to contact "Mike" by email (mbutler@stmartin.edu) or phone (360-438-4355) if you have any questions about Saints Care services or processes, or if you have any other questions about how faculty can effectively work with Saints Care in order to best serve students who may be struggling personally and/or academically. You may also contact Justin Stern, Saints Care Coordinator, at jstern@stmartin.edu or 360-688-2920 to follow up.