On Tuesday, September 16, 2025 at J. Taylor Finley Middle School in Huntington, Suffolk County Legislator Rebecca Sanin held a press conference with Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. and Huntington Union Free School District Superintendent Beth McCoy to announce a pilot program in the Huntington School District entitled “Handle With Care”.
Started more 10 years ago in West Virginia, the Handle With Care program has shown positive improvements in the well-being of students and community trust by supporting students that have been exposed to possible traumatic events outside of school.
What is the “Handle With Care” program? When the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office responds to a call where children are present, they will send an electronic notification to the school district with the phrase “Handle With Care” and the child’s address. The 4 question form that Sheriff Deputies complete contains the address, complaint number and an incident type from choices of Domestic Violence, Family Arrest, Family Death or Other. The Handle With Care notification ONLY sends the address to the school district to let them know that a student residing there may need extra care, understanding, patience or support in school. The teachers and administrators can offer the child help in a variety of way – postponing a test, homework help and compassion if the child appears tired, hungry, distracted or withdrawn.
Legislator Rebecca Sanin stated: “I am proud to launch a pilot of the nationally recognized Handle with Care program in the Huntington School District, in partnership with the Sheriff’s Office,”. This initiative will help educators respond with compassion and coordination – so when families are facing a crisis, school leaders can be alerted quickly and mobilize the needed support to protect the well-being and success of every child. “Administrators and teachers can quickly engage counselors, social workers, and community partners to meet the needs the moment they arrive without relying on hindsight or on rumors.” Sanin said “This program also supports our law enforcement officers – often parents themselves – to know that when they leave a challenging situation, the children they meet will receive intervention from the school district that cares for them daily.”
“The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office is proud to partner with the Huntington School District and Legislator Rebecca Sanin on this pilot Handle with Care program. This program gives us a simple, confidential way to help children who may need extra patience and compassion because of a situation at home. My hope is that we can expand it across Suffolk County, building stronger connections between law enforcement and schools and most importantly ensuring that children are supported with care,” said Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr.
“The Huntington School District is proud to partner with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office in implementing the Handle with Care program. This important collaboration will further strengthen our ability to support students who may have experienced traumatic events by ensuring staff are informed and able to provide thoughtful attention and care. With the program’s real-time communication, our schools can enhance the strong supports already in place and take an even more proactive approach to promoting student well-being and success.” said Superintendent Beth McCoy.
Xavier Palacios – President of the Board of Education Trustees of the Huntington Union Free School District, Bob Vecchio – Director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association and Lars Clemensen – Immediate past president of the New York Council of School Superintendents, who piloted Hampton Bays Handle With Care program also spoke, all expressing their endorsement of the project and thanking Legislator Sanin for working for more than 3 years to bring this pilot program to the Huntington School District. The hope is that this pilot will expand to all Law Enforcement Agencies across Suffolk County so that each and every child who has suffered in any way from an incident in their home will be able to get the help they may need when they return to school by offering compassion, understanding and care.
Huntington Matters asked Sheriff Toulon how long the Handle With Care pilot program would take before it can be introduced to all Suffolk County law enforcement agencies, the Sheriff said “I think in about six months to a year, to work the kinks out. We’ll speak with Legislator Sanin and the school Superintendent and see what they want to do. Anything that we may need to change, things that we maybe seeing trends and we’ll evaluate it and then move forward.”
When does the Sheriff’s office encounter children? The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office is the enforcement arm of the civil courts, operates the two Suffolk County correctional facilities (in Yaphank and Riverhead) and provides county courthouse security and detention. The civil actions include property executions – tenant evictions, vehicle or boat repossessions (and other items) – income executions, warrants to remove, warrants of arrest, service of D.W.I. forfeiture summonses seizing vehicles and all other orders issued from any civil court. In addition to civil enforcement, the Deputy Sheriffs assigned to this section also enforce Penal Law, Criminal Procedure Law, and Vehicle Traffic Law. The Civil Enforcement Bureau’s law enforcement role encompasses all of the ten townships that comprise Suffolk County.
The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office also operates a Domestic Violence Bureau. Deputy Sheriffs assigned to this command serve and enforce the Orders of Protection; they arrest individuals charged with violating Orders of Protection and those with Family Offense related warrants. [Orders of protection are issued by a judge to protect you from another person who is abusing, harassing, threatening, and/or intimidating you, or has committed a crime against you.] The third function is to provide victims with a safe refuge by removing batterers from the home, seizing weapons and executing all arrest warrants against the perpetrators of domestic violence.
Additionally, the Sheriff’s Office operates a countywide DWI Enforcement Team which consists of Drug Recognition Experts (D.R.E.) and is the Downstate New York Coordinator for Project Lifesaver International – a Countywide Emergency Locator Service capable of finding those diagnosed with cognitive impairment (Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, Autism, Down Syndrome, etc.) which may cause them to wander and become lost. Those enrolled in the program wear a one-ounce tracking device that can be tracked by specially trained Deputy Sheriffs.
Watch the Live video for interviews and a demonstration of how the Deputy Sheriffs will submit the Handle With Care notification from their patrol cars.
June Margolin contributed to this story, Photography by Dana Richter, Videography by June Margolin. Copyright 2025 – All rights reserved.
