Eryn ElderColorado Legacy Foundation

720.502.4702eelder@colegacy.org

October 4th, 2013

The Colorado Framework for School Behavioral Health

Services

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The Colorado Legacy Foundation

• Is an independent 501 (c ) (3) that serves as a critical friend and partner to the Colorado Department of Education in the effective implementation of public policy.

• We identify promising practices, invest in innovative work, recommend policy, evaluate results, and share our findings with all Colorado school districts and schools.

• We believe that increased student achievement for all Colorado students requires effective leaders in every school, effective educators in every classroom, and healthy and engaging environments that ignite a passion for learning in every student.

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Agenda

• The Framework Context• Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Health and Schools

• The Colorado Context • Introduction to the Framework• Championing the Work Activity

• The Grant Opportunity• Wrap-up/Closing

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Today’s Objectives

• Provide participants with background information about The Colorado Framework for School Behavioral Health Services

• Introduce participants to the new Colorado Framework for School Behavioral Health Services

• Help participants think about how they can champion systems-level comprehensive school behavioral health systems

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The Context - Research• Rose Community Foundation 2-year grant-funded

project• Research

– 57 people interviewed or participated in a focus group– Over 75 academic articles and state policy documents

reviewed– National scan of districts/schools implementing these

systems– Gaps and barriers analysis – trend analysis = 14

school-related plus 6 overall gaps and barriers

Intervention

Early Intervention

Prevention

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The Context - Research

• Investigated the scalability of Building Bridges for Children’s Mental Health, a 2009 pilot by CDE in Mesa County – Combined PBIS with a System of Care (SOC)

PBIS is “an implementation framework that is designed to enhance academic and social behavior outcomes for all students” (Sugai and Simonsen, 2012, p. 1).

Source: Sugai, G. and Simonsen, B. (2012). Positive behavioral interventions and supports: history, defining features, and misconceptions. Retrieved from http://www.pbis.org/common/pbisresources/publications/PBIS_revisited_June19r_2012.pdf

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The Context - SOC

• SOC – “spectrum of effective, community-based services and supports for children and youth with or at risk for mental health or other challenges and their families, that is organized into a coordinated school network, builds meaningful partnerships with families and youth, and addresses their cultural and linguistic needs, in order to help them to function better at home, in school, in the community, and throughout life” (Stroul, et.al, 2010, p. 3).

Source: Stroul, B., Goldman, S., Pires, S., and Manteuffel, B. (2010) Expanding Systems of Care Improving the Lives of Children, Youth, and Families. Retrieved from http://gucchdtacenter.georgetown.edu/publications/SOC%20Results%205-7-12.pdf

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The Context - Goals

• 1. Focus on building systems-level Framework

• 2. Help districts and schools engage in systems-level work within an already over-taxed system

• 3. Highlight the importance of a layered-continuum of social, emotional, and behavioral health supports in schools

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Why Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Health in School

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Why Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Health in School

• Academic link: A growing body of literature highlights the strong connection between social, emotional, and behavioral health and academic achievement. – “A study estimating the relative influence of 30 different categories of

educational, psychological, and social variables on learning revealed that social and emotional variables exerted the most powerful influence on academic performance” (CASEL, 2003, p. 7).

• The majority of youth who receive services do so in a school setting.

Source: CASEL. (2003). Safe and sound an educational leader’s guide to evidence-based social and emotional learning (sel) programs. Retrieved from http://casel.org/publications/safe-and-sound-an-educational-leaders-guide-to-evidence-based-sel-programs/

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Why Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Health in School

• Punitive approaches to externalizers; no systems for internalizers

• In Colorado and throughout the nation, teachers overwhelmingly report they need this support.

• “Student Support: Schools must establish a multi-tiered high-capacity, student support system that includes school-wide positive discipline, social and emotional learning and classroom-level and individualized student supports.”

Source: From Tom Vander Ark’s blog, Non-cognitive Skills: Bad Name, Really Important. Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/on_innovation/2012/10/non-cognitive_skills_bad_name_really_important.html

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Why Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Health in Colorado Schools

• Sampling of Colorado Legislation – Colorado SB 13-266, Creating a Coordinated Behavioral Health Crisis Response

System– Colorado SB 13-193, Increasing Parent Engagement in Public Schools– Colorado HB 12-1345, The Amended Fair Discipline in Schools Act– Colorado SB 10-191, Colorado’s Great Teachers and Leaders Act – Colorado SB 09-163, Education Accountability Act

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It is All Coming Together in Colorado

• School Liaisons at the 17 Community Mental Health Centers

• Trauma-Informed System of Care and Communities of Excellence

• Colorado and Children Youth Information Sharing Collaborative (CCYIS)

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• Expands on the Building Bridges for Children’s Mental Health project

• Combines a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) with a System of Care (SOC)

• Links to 1 of 3 specialized service delivery models• Spotlights districts/schools engaging in this work• Includes tools and resources to help districts and

schools create comprehensive school behavioral health systems

The Framework

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What is a Comprehensive School Behavioral Health System (SOC with MTSS)?

• A comprehensive school behavioral health system includes district- and school-level educational and local behavioral health professionals working in concert with families to improve prevention, early intervention, and intervention strategies within the school and community to meet students’ social, emotional, and behavioral health needs.   

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The Framework – Overview• Combines a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)

with a System of Care (SOC)– MTSS – Whole-school, data-driven, prevention-based

framework for improving learning outcomes for EVERY student through a layered continuum of evidence-based practices and systems (CDE)

– SOC – “spectrum of effective, community-based services and supports for children and youth with or at risk for mental health or other challenges and their families, that is organized into a coordinated school network, builds meaningful partnerships with families and youth, and addresses their cultural and linguistic needs, in order to help them to function better at home, in school, in the community, and throughout life” (Stroul, et.al, 2010, p. 3).

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Students’ Needs Are NOT Fixed

All Students

Some Students

FewStudents

Tier 3 – Intensive

Tier 2 – Targeted

Tier 1 - Universal

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The Framework - Selection of Best Practices

• Includes a best practices guide to help schools implement comprehensive school behavioral health systems

• Selected from research, interviews, and focus groups – guided by leadership advisory committee

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Best Practices Pyramid

Foundation

Tier 3 – Intensive

Tier 2 – Targeted

Tier 1 - Universal

Few Students

Some Students

All Students

Systems of Care

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Best Practices - Foundation

• District and School Teams Drive this Work

• Family-School-Community Partnerships• Mental Health Stigma Reduction• Staff Professional Development• Positive School Climate and Culture• Accountability Systems• Data-Based Decision Making

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Best Practices – Tier 1 Services

• Referral Process • Behavioral Health Screening• Social, Emotional Learning Opportunities• Positive Behavior Supports

All Students – Universal Supports

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Best Practices – Tier 2 Services

• Progress Monitoring • Evidence-Based Interventions

Some Students – Targeted Supports

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Best Practices – Tier 3 Services

• Crisis Response• Re-entry Plan• Individual/Group Counseling/Therapy

Few Students – Intensive Supports

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Linking with Systems of CareTier 3

Tier 2

Tier 1

Foundation

• Adequate Information Sharing

• Strong Communication Loop

• Warm Hand-Off• Wraparound Services• Youth-Driven and Family

Guided Services

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Linking to 1 of 3 Specialized Services Delivery Models

Co-located school-based health center

School-based therapist

Community-based services

Tier 3T

ier 2T

ier 1

Foundation

• Adequate Information Sharing

• Strong Communication Loop

• Warm Hand-Off• Wraparound

Services• Youth-Driven and

Family Guided Services

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The Challenge

• "It's not fair, it's not just, it's not right," says Bostic, a former high school teacher himself…“Some people say schools have no business doing mental-health-related stuff, and I appreciate that. But the reality is, whether you do something or nothing, you're affecting kids' mental health every day you're a teacher.”

Source: Scholes, Laura. A depressing trend: teenage mental illness is on the rise. | Edutopia | K-12 Education & Learning Innovations with Proven Strategies that Work. Retrieved from <http://www.edutopia.org/depressing-trend>.

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Barriers and Opportunities

Think-Pair-Share Activity

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The Champion

• Need someone at the school to guide the team’s work

• How does the social worker fit into this model?

• What opportunities do you have to be embedded into the school academic culture?

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Social Worker and Comprehensive School Behavioral Health Systems

• Collaboration across 3 levels– Home-school-community liaison – Consultant– System-level specialist

Source: Berzin, SC, O’Brien KHM, Frey A, Kelly MS, Alvarez ME, Shaffer GL. Meeting the social and behavioral health needs of students: rethinking the relationship between teachers and school social workers. J Sch Health. 2011; 81: 493-501.

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Leaders of Systems Change-Developing Your System

Activity!1) Consider today’s information.2) Using the best practices checklist, circle the areas that your school does the best work with.3) Using the planning tool, select a goal at each level of the pyramid that you could help your

school/district champion considering your focus on system-level specialist.

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The Framework Release

• November 2013• Print and online• CD of tools and resources

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• Needs assessment• Universal screening toolkit• Social and emotional learning guide• Building Bridges resources• Example referral forms • And more!

Tools and Resources

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• $5,000+ to 5 districts/schools• January 2014—December 2014

– Possible 2nd year of funding• Technical assistance, tools, and resources

Grant Awards

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• CLF released an application for funding on Wednesday, October 2nd, 2013.

• Application must include: 2 strategies aligned to the Framework.

• Click here for a copy of the application.

Application

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Examples of Strategies• By December, 2014, X amount of school

professionals will be trained in Mental Health First Aid Youth Curriculum.

• By December 2014, school X will begin using a universal screening system.

• By December 31, 2014, X amount of middle schools in ABC school district will implement social, emotional skill building opportunities.

• By December 31, 2014, X amount of schools will have a partnership with a behavioral health professional.

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Application

• Funding Application – Due November 22nd by 5 p.m.

• Awards will be announced in December.• Grant money will be released in January.• For questions, please contact me by e-

mail at eelder@colegacy.org or by phone at (720) 502-4702.

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Grant Awards for School Climate

Emphasis on 4 Strategies1. Empower Students to Be Change Agents2. Create a Community of Upstanding Allies3. Use Professional Development and Policy

Change to Facilitate Adult Change in Practice4. Use Data to Drive Decisions

Transforming School Climate Toolkit

Contact Finessa Ferrell by e-mail at fferrell@colegacy.org or by phone at 720-502-4709.

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Closing and Wrap Up

• Brief reflection• Please fill out the evaluation form.

Thank you for all of the great work you do!