Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management
Introduction
The multidisciplinary Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) Team brings together expertise across student and employee domains into a single, coordinated structure to provide an integrated, institution-wide approach to targeted violence prevention. The BTAM Team’s processes are rooted in the evidence-led discipline of behavioral threat assessment and management. Developed over the past four decades, behavioral threat assessment and management allow for a fact-based, investigative approach to determine whether, and to what extent, a person may pose a threat of violence. The process from intake to assessment is standardized to the greatest extent possible to ensure a thorough, fair, and fact-based process for all those involved.
Behavioral threat assessment and management consider warning behaviors, along with risk and protective factors identified through fact-finding, to determine a level of concern. This level of concern helps to guide the case’s threat management plan. As new information becomes known to the BTAM Team, the level of concern and the subsequent threat management plan can change.
All areas of the campus community are required to cooperate with the BTAM Team's requests to ensure effective monitoring of threatening behavior.
Submit BTAM Referral Form
Principles of behavioral threat assessment and management
Principles of behavioral threat assessment and management
- The safety of the university community is the primary focus of the BTAM Team and a shared concern of all members of the community.
- The BTAM Team is not a substitute for an emergency response to an active or imminent threat to the welfare, health, or safety of the university community.
- Coordination, collaboration, and effective information sharing is critical to violence prevention, threat identification, assessment, and management.
- A fact-based, analytical approach guides the BTAM Team’s process.
- The BTAM Team establishes or utilizes existing collaborative relationships with local, state, and federal agencies, as well as other local and institutional resources, as necessary, to facilitate assessment and intervention for individuals whose behavior may pose a threat.
- The BTAM Team treats all persons fairly, with dignity and respect.
- The BTAM Team addresses and manages impact to individuals, groups, and the community.
What BTAM is (and is not)
| BTAM IS | BTAM IS NOT |
|---|---|
| A proactive, prevention-focused process to identify and manage concerning behavior | A replacement for emergency response (call 911/UICPD for imminent threats) |
| Used for non-imminent concerns about potential violence or harm | Used for active or immediate emergencies |
| A fact-based, analytical assessment approach | A disciplinary or punitive process |
| Focused on behaviors of concern and patterns over time | Focused on single incidents without context |
| A multidisciplinary team (Human Resources, Dean of Students, Access and Equity, Preparedness and Response, Counseling Center, University Health Services, UIC Police, Office of the Provost, Health Affairs, etc.) | One office acting alone or in isolation |
| Designed to assess risk and coordinate support for intervention strategies | Only about “removing” or “punishing” individuals |
| A process to support individuals and protect the community | Only focused on the person of concern (ignores community impact) |
| A way to consult, collaborate, and share information appropriately | A siloed or confidential black box with no coordination |
| A process that may include referrals, monitoring, and coordinated response plans | A surveillance or intelligence-gathering operation |
| A structured way to guide decision-making using risk and protective factors | Based on biases, intuition, profiling, or assumptions |
BTAM Team
Team Membership
The BTAM Team consists of the following members:
- Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources
- Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
- Associate Vice Chancellor, Health Sciences Academic Affairs
- Campus Legal Counsel
- Chief of Staff, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
- Chief of Police, UIC Police Department
- Director, Office for Access and Equity
- Director, Threat Management and Prevention
- Director, University Health Services
- Executive Director, UIC Counseling Center
Responsibilities
- Receiving and reviewing reports of concerning, non-imminent behavior that may pose a threat to campus safety or of targeted violence
- Conducting structured, evidence-informed threat assessments and risk monitoring using standardized processes
- Developing, implementing, and coordinating individualized management and intervention strategies that prioritize support and prevention
- Coordinating timely and appropriate information sharing across relevant Colleges/units
- Participating in standing, ad hoc, and urgent case review meetings
- Engaging in training, exercises, and professional development to maintain readiness and consistency
- Leveraging data, case tracking, and feedback loops to inform decision-making, identify trends, and support continuous program improvement
Oversight
The Campus Violence Prevention Committee (CVPC) provides oversight to the BTAM Team. The BTAM Team report to the CVPC once in the fall and once in the spring semesters. The CVPC will be notified when, in the judgment of BTAM Team, a high concern or significant emergency involving a threat of violence or act of violence poses a significant or imminent threat to the welfare, health, or safety of the university community (i.e., a person/situation poses a Priority 1 or Priority 2 Concern, as described in the Level of Concern Standardized Response Chart). Upon notification to the CVPC, the CVPC may assume the role of the Emergency Operations Policy Group and exercise their authority and discretion to activate the Emergency Operations Plan as necessary.
Federated BTAM Model
About
UIC Regional Health Sciences Campus Behavioral Intervention Teams (BITs) in Peoria and Rockford are organized within the university’s federated behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) model. This model supports each regional campus in maintaining ownership of its local cases through the BITs while receiving governance, standards consultation, escalation support, and enterprise risk awareness from the BTAM Team and Threat Management and Prevention Division.
Oversight
Within the federated BTAM model, administrative oversight for each regional campus is supported by the TMPD within the Office of Preparedness and Response. TMPD establishes policy and operating procedures, maintains common assessment methodologies, provides training, develops standardized documentation and reporting forms, provides administrative support for case management software implementation and maintenance, maintains metrics, assures visibility to the Campus Violence Prevention Committee (CVPC), provides case consultation on complex threat cases, coordinates cross-campus investigations, facilitates information-sharing, and provides the CVPC with briefings on active, high-priority cases as needed.
Regional Behavioral Intervention Teams
The BIT at each regional health sciences campus maintains ownership of its local, or regional campus-specific, behavioral intervention cases while sharing information with the BTAM program when necessary. Regional BITs oversee the intake, initial assessment, documentation, and local case management functions for behavioral concerns that fall below the threshold for the BTAM Team’s involvement. BIT cases are continually evaluated for indicators of targeted violence or other significant safety risks. When information suggests that a situation may present a threat of targeted violence or otherwise meets established BTAM referral criteria, the BITs promptly refer and coordinate the case with the BTAM Team for behavioral threat assessment and management. The BITs and BTAM Team collaborate, as appropriate, to ensure coordinated intervention, risk mitigation, and case management while maintaining their distinct roles and responsibilities.
