2017
The document is designed to provide guidance on the integration of Student Assistance Program (SAP) and school-wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) for SAP Regional Coordinators, SAP Commonwealth Approved Trainers (CATS), SAP Liaisons, and school-wide PBIS Facilitators who will be working with schools that operate both SAP and PBIS Advanced Tier teams. / Practical Guidance Document /
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Contents
I.Background
The Origins of the Student Assistance Program in Pennsylvania
The Origins of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports in Pennsylvania
The Origins of SAP and PBIS Integration in Pennsylvania
II.Vision for SAP/PBIS Integration
III. Rationale for SAP/PBIS Integration
How Integration Enhances SAP
How Integration Enhances PBIS
IV. Pennsylvania Student Assistance Program (SAP): What all stakeholders need to know
The SAP Core Team Process
Phase 1: Referrals
Phase 2: Team Planning
Phase 3: Intervention and Recommendations
Phase 4: Support and Follow-up
V.Positive Behavior Interventions and Support: What all stakeholders need to know
The PBIS Team Process
Tier 1/Universal Core Team:
Tier 2 Team:
Tier 3 Team:
VI. SAP and PBIS Teams: A side by side comparison
VII. SAP and PBIS Advanced Tier Team Integration
Where to Find Technical Assistance Providers
Preparing for the Integration of SAP and PBIS
Suggested Action Steps
Overcoming Decision-making Barriers
Considerations for Teams That Have Decided to Integrate SAP and PBIS Teams
VIII. Practical Ideas for Involving SAP Teams across All PBIS Tiers
IX. Considerations for Teams That Have Decided Not to Integrate SAP and PBIS Teams
RESOURCES
1.1 SAP Team Readiness Checklist
1.2 SAP/PBIS Integration Comparison/Contrast Analysis Tool
1.3 Planning for SAP/PBIS Alignment and Merger
1.4 Example: Comparison/Contrast Analysis Tool (1.2) & Planning for SAP/PBIS Alignment and Merger
2.1 Committee/Group Self-Assessment & Action Planning
2.2 Pennsylvania SAP Components and Indicators Checklists (Abbreviated Version)
2.3 Benchmarks of Quality
2.4 Tiered Fidelity Inventory
3.1 Interconnected Systems Framework
3.2 Practical Ideas for Involving SAP Teams in PBIS
Acknowledgements
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I.Background
The Origins of the Student Assistance Program in Pennsylvania
In 1984, the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (formerly the Department of Health, Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs) provided a grant for seed money to pilot SAP throughout the Commonwealth under the auspices of the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). In 1986-87, the Department of Human Services (formerly the Department of Public Welfare): Office of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) joined the SAP efforts to address teen suicide and other mental health concerns in addition to substance abuse issues.Thereafter, on December 3, 2005, the State Board issued a Final-Form rulemaking in the PA bulletin, which added SAP to Chapter 12 (§ 12.42) of the PA School Code as a requirement for all elementary and secondary schools.
Currently, the Commonwealth's SAP program is jointly coordinated and administered by PDE: Office of Safe Schools, DDAP- Bureau of Treatment, Prevention and Intervention, and Department of Human Services (DHS): OMHSAS. These three agencies make up the SAP Interagency Committee that oversees the implementation and continuing development of the Pennsylvania Network for Student Assistance Services (PNSAS). All three agencies are also members of the Community of Practice (CoP) on School Based Behavioral Health (SBBH).
The Origins of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports in Pennsylvania
The CoP on SBBH is a community of cross-sector stakeholders that share a commitment to the advancement of early childhood, school age and adult behavioral health and wellness within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.Founded in 2006 and convened by the Pennsylvania Department of Education: Bureau of Special Education, the CoP focuses on promoting the implementation and sustainability of multi-tiered systems of supports; integration of evidence-based programming into decision-making frameworks; and fostering and leveraging articulated and robust school - community partnerships.To that end, in 2006 the membership of the CoP adopted the installation and scale-up of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) as means by which to eliminate non-academic barriers to learning, create and maintaina safe and effective learning environment in schools, and ensure that all students have the social and emotional skills needed to succeed in school and beyond. To manage the state-wide installation and scale-up of PBIS, the CoP establish the Pennsylvania Positive Behavior Support (PaPBS) Network.
The Origins of SAP and PBIS Integration in Pennsylvania
Given the existence of both SAP and PBIS in schools, the SAP Interagency Committee and the PaPBS Network recognized a need for guidance on how school-based teams might effectively integrate efforts to align SAP and PBIS processes for increased efficiencies. Thus, in 2011, the Commonwealth SAP Interagency Committee convened a workgroup to develop guidance on how SAP processes align with activities associated with those of PBIS Advanced Tier teams. The initial field guidanceframed key points for school personnel to consider in determining how best to concurrently implement SAP and PBIS within a school setting. Following the development of the field guidance, the following stakeholders were provided access to and trained on the guidance materials: Commonwealth Approved Trainers (CATS), SAP Regional Coordinators, SAP Liaisons, and school-wide PBIS Facilitators affiliated with the PaPBS Network.
In 2013, OMHSAS, in partnership with members of the CoP on SBBH, developed a proposal in response to a request for application issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services: Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for the following federally funded opportunity: Safe Schools/Healthy Students State Planning, Local Education Agency, and Local Community Cooperative Agreement (short title: SS/HS State Program). Later that same year, SAMHSA awarded Pennsylvania one (1) of seven (7) SS/HS State Program cooperative agreements. As part of the required activities associated with the cooperative agreement, a state-level leadership and management team (SLMT) was formed for the purpose of advising the programmatic implementation of state program. Also, as part of the cooperative agreement’s required activities, the SLMT engaged in an externally facilitated environmental scan and needs assessment. Specific to the state-level environmental scan and needs assessment, the SLMT identified severalprogrammatic gaps to be addressed by the state program, including the following:
- There is an absence of clear and comprehensive guidance on the integration of school Student Assistance Programs for mental health and drug and alcohol services and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support.
Thus, the SLMT for the SS/HS State Program requested a workgroup convene to both review and revise the SAP/PBIS integration guidance materials that were developed in 2011. Furthermore, the SLMT requested the re-release of the revised guidance, with the following goal of training no less than 75% of the following stakeholders by the October of 2017: Commonwealth Approved Trainers (CATS), SAP Regional Coordinators, and school-wide PBIS Facilitators affiliated with the PaPBS Network.
The following materials contained in this practical guidance document are the results of the SS/HS State Program’s workgroup tasked to revise and train on SAP/PBIS integration. The material contained herein provides expanded considerations for school personnel to consider in determining how best to concurrently implement SAP and PBIS within a school setting
II.Vision for SAP/PBIS Integration
The collaboration between the management of the Student Assistance Program (SAP) and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) across the commonwealth holds a vision for the integration of data, systems and practices. Such integrative efforts will result in the reduction of non-academic barriers to student achievement, improvements in the depth and quality of behavioral health services for students, and the realization of better utilization of school and community-based resources leading to interventions that have meaningful impact. Collaborative and reciprocal communications between schools and child and youth serving agencies will be evidenced as the hallmark of this interconnected approach to service delivery.
III.Rationale for SAP/PBIS Integration
In the face of declining funding, less time, and greater focus on accountabilities for success, educators seek smarter, evidence-based solutions to improve academic outcomes and student behavior as it impacts learner achievement. At the heart of many academic and discipline-related issues are escalating behavioral health concerns that create formidable barriers to student learning. Positive Behavior Interventions and Support and SAP are two frameworks that are being implemented in Pennsylvania’s public schools, each of which are designed to address such learning barriers. Thus, the practical guidance framed in this document is designed to assist schools challenged to improve and sustain students’ behavioral health.
Consistent with the tiered public health model, the PBIS and SAP frameworks help schools situate universal strategies and evidence-based programs that address the prevention of problem behavior, mental health concerns, and substance abuse for whole school populations(Tier 1). These frameworks also drive school-based teams to utilize referral processes and data that leads to both the early identification of problems and implementation of evidence-based, socially valid, and culturally responsive small group interventions for those students who need additional supports (Tier 2). Likewise, given this approach, school-based teams at the advanced tier also use data to select focused, intensive, one-on-one interventions to support students who have intensive needs or who require crisis management services that involve planned programs that provide mental health and/or social, emotional, and/or behavioral skill development (Tier 3).
Schools following the mandate for Student Assistance, which are also implementing PBIS, should thoughtfully and seriously consider integrating these two frameworks. There is a synergy when schools integrate SAP and PBIS. Although each framework can enhance student outcomes, together these frameworks stand to more fully and efficiently enhance the depth and quality of preventive and intervening programs. Frameworks, such as SAP and PBIS, align with the three tiered approach that is the Public Health Model for Prevention. The integrating SAP and PBIS stands to make the public health vision a more robust, comprehensive, and effective system. Thus, students, family, and staff benefit from a more seamless approach to reduce and eliminate non-academic barriers to achievement.
Both the SAP and PBIS frameworks share common functions:
- Prevent and address student needs that interfere with learning
- Utilize a multi‐tiered approach
- Engage problem‐solving teams
- Promote monitoring and mentoring of students
- Promote student skill development groups
- Use data for decision-making purposes
- Monitor student progress and response to intervention(s)
- Involve and engage students, families, and communities
How Integration Enhances SAP
Fidelity implementation of PBIS Tier 1 processes maximizes the effectiveness by which SAP can operate. A well-developed approach to improving school climate and culture through universal supports via PBIS reduces the potential for the over-identification of learners for student assistance and advanced tier interventions.
When efforts are aligned, teams are better prepared to respond to students’ needs. Aligned data sets provide for more robust information to inform problem solving strategies for learners. Aligned processes for identification of interventions and referrals affords better outcomes. Aligned efforts for case management and progress monitoring provides opportunity for targeted plans and increased student success. Ultimately, the integrated, problem-solving process hones in on the functions of a student’s behavior and leads to a greater efficiency with emphasis on goal setting and attainment.
The historical underpinnings of PBIS is grounded on the research literature addressing needs of students with disabilities and emanates from the science of applied behavioral analysis. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports fosters policies and procedures to address organizational management and systems change in schools for the promotion of desired student behavior.
How Integration Enhances PBIS
The impact of PBIS is strengthened when braided with the SAP framework through consultation with community SAP liaisons. Student Assistance Programs link with the larger community-basedsystem of care, inherently consistent with the concept of an interconnected systems framework (ISF). Student Assistance Programs build collaborative relationships with community mental health and drug and alcohol agencies that provide a continuum of services for students in the schools. Such services range from school-based mental health and drug and alcohol treatment to school mental health teams designed to connect all child and family serving systems.
Strengths of SAP include over 30 years of implementation, which includes policies, procedures, and guidelines that cover a variety of areas effecting schools today. Such policies, procedures, and guidelines informed by SAP efforts address controlled substances, the use of naloxone, tobacco, suicide prevention and postventions.
IV.Pennsylvania Student Assistance Program (SAP): What all stakeholders need to know
The Commonwealth Student Assistance Program is designed to assist school personnel in identifying issues including alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, and mental health issues which pose a barrier to a student's learning and school success. The primary goal of SAP is to help students overcome these barriers in order that they may achieve, remain in school, and advance to their desired post-school outcomes. While Student Assistance Programs exist in other areas of the country, the structure and operation of the program in Pennsylvania is a unique expression of an integrated model serving the needs of Pennsylvania families and their students since 1984.
The Student Assistance Program is not a treatment program; rather, it is a systematic process using effective and accountable professional techniques to mobilize school and community resources to remove the barriers to learning. However, when the solution is beyond the scope of the school, the SAP is leveraged to provide families and students with information so they may access services within the community. Student assistance team members do not diagnose, treat, or refer for treatment. But, student assistance team members may refer students for an assessment for treatment. Involvement of families in all phases of the student assistance program underscores the family members' role and responsibility in the decision-making process affecting their children's education and is the key to the successful resolution of problems.
The SAP Core Team Process
The core of the Student Assistance Programis a professionally trained team, including school staff and liaisons from community agencies, which deals with issues based upon state guidelines, professional standards, and policies and procedures adopted by the local board of school directors. Professional training conducted by Commonwealth Approved SAP Training Providers, consistent with state guidelines, is required to ensure the appropriateness of the recommended services, effective interagency collaboration, and compliance with state and federal laws protecting the privacy rights of parents and students. The rigorous training for team members, which results in a certificate from the Pennsylvania Network for Student Assistance Services (PNSAS), ensures the local board of school directors, school administrators, parents, students, and the public that team members have received up-to-date professional training consistent with content standards and appropriate professional procedures that lead to accountability.
The SAP Team follows a four phase process in assisting students referred to the team. The four phases of the student assistance process include referrals, team planning, intervention and recommendations, and support and follow-up.
Phase 1: Referrals
Anyone can refer a student to SAP when concerned about a student’s behavior. Examples of people who can initiate a SAP referral include school staff, a student’s friend, a family member, or a community member. Likewise, a student can self-refer by going directly to the SAP team to ask for help. Once a referral is initiated, the SAP team contacts the parent for permission to proceed with the SAP process. Over the years the data collected from schools indicate that the majority of referrals to SAP teams come from teachers.
Phase 2: Team Planning
The SAP team gathers objective information about the referred student’s school performance from school-based personnel who have contact with the student. Information is also collected from the student’s family. Subsequent to the data collection, the SAP team meets with the family and student to discuss the information that has been gathered. In partnership with the SAP team, the family and student develop a plan that includes strategies for removing the learning barriers and promoting the student’s academic and personal success. Strategies in the plan may include in-school and/or community-based services and activities.
Phase 3: Intervention and Recommendations
The plan is put into action. The SAP team assists in linking the student to in-school and/or community-based services and activities. The SAP team might also recommend a drug and alcohol or mental health screening/assessment.
Phase 4: Support and Follow-up
The SAP team continues to work with and support the student and his/her family. Follow-up activities includes monitoring, mentoring, and motivating for academic success. The plan may be reviewed and adjusted as needed.
V.Positive Behavior Interventions and Support: What all stakeholders need to know
School-wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Support is a strengths-based proactive approach that promotes appropriate student behavior and increased learning. Traditionally, models of school discipline tend to be reactive (i.e. student misbehavior results in punitive consequences). The word “approach” is key in that PBIS provides a data-based, decision making framework, not a packaged program, for developing a comprehensive system of behavior support tailored to individual school and student needs. The core principles of PBIS include: explicit instruction of appropriate behavior to all learners; early intervention; use of research-based, scientifically-validated interventions to the extent available; monitoring student process to inform interventions; use of data to make decisions; and use of assessments for the purpose of universal screening, diagnostics and progress monitoring.The approach is based upon a three-tiered model.