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Learn about the Wisconsin school safety and mental health framework, including threat assessments, safety plans, drills, and trainings. Improve school readiness and emergency management with REMS resources.
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School Safety and the Mental Health Framework Brian Dean, Educational Consultant (608) 266-9677
School Safety and the Mental Health Framework School Safety ThreatAssessmentInquiry/Means Restriction/Referrals/Critical Response Teams • https://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/mental-health/framework • https://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/safe-schools SBIRT/GAIN SS/Peer Programs Safety Plans Team/Drills/Trainings/Tip line
Preamble Wisconsin ACT 143 • Provided $100 Mil in safety grant funding to districts • Created the DOJ’s Office of School Safety • Clarified and improved requirements of safety planning • Required the Mandatory Reporting of Threats of School Violence training for all school employees https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2017/related/lcactmemo/act143.pdf
Tier 1 Safety Resources Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) “Emergency Operations Plans (EOP’s) Assess” • The REMS Center is a comprehensive federal resource for School Safety • “Assess” is a web-based application primer to developing an EOP (Safety Plan) • Provides guided questions to begin the EOP process • Provides a printed report to enhance the users knowledge of EOP’s https://rems.ed.gov/EOPinteractivetools.aspx
Tier 1 Safety Resources REMS “EOP’s Site Assess” • Schools are required under ACT 143 to conduct on-site assessments, with local law enforcement, of each school building, site and facility regularly occupied by students • The REMS Center’s free app to help assess potential hazards and threats in these areas • Provides teams with fundamentals of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design • Customizable to meet the needs of local communities • Complements and supports a school’s mitigation and prevention activities https://rems.ed.gov/SITEASSESS.aspx
Tier 1 Safety Resources • REMS “EOP Assist 4.0” • Free downloadable software • Provides guidance through the federally recommended 6 step process of developing a high quality EOP • Free companion workbook • Exports a customized and downloadable school EOP https://rems.ed.gov/EOPASSIST/EOPASSIST.aspx
Tier 1 Safety Resources REMS “EOP Evaluate” • Free web-based software • Compare your existing EOP against Federal guidelines • Find “holes” in your existing plan and develop specific courses of action for improvement • Re-evaluation is an important and required action in maintaining an EOP https://rems.ed.gov/EOPinteractivetools.aspx
Tier 1 Safety Resources Wisconsin School Safety Coordinators Association • Can do site assessments for a fee • Provides certification of School Safety Coordinators • Has annual conference on school Safety: February 3 and 4, Wisconsin Dells • Provides “digital” threat assessments trainings http://www.wssca.org/
Tier 1 Safety Resources School Violence Drills Required under Act 143 Must occur at least once a year May supplant another drill An evaluation of the drill must be submitted to the school’s board or governing body The REMS Center provides many free examples in its toolbox resource area https://rems.ed.gov/ToolBox.aspx
Tier 1 Safety Resources Social Emotional Learning (SEL) • How people acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to manage emotions, achieve positive goals, show empathy, maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. • SEL improves achievement in students • SEL returns $11 for $1 invested https://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/mental-health/social-emotional-learning
Tier 1 Safety Resources Trauma Sensitive Schools (TSS) • Schools can help prevent and mitigate the negative impact of trauma on students • A trauma sensitive school can improve the social, emotional and academic functioning of it’s students • To qualify for a WI DOJ School Safety Grant, school staff must have engaged in at least 3 hours of TSS training (Can be combined with Adverse Childhood Experience training) https://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/mental-health/trauma/modules
Tier 1 Safety Resources Youth Mental Health First Aid Low Cost Trainings Provides trainees with the skills to identify and respond to the signs of mental illness Target group for potential referrals are adolescents ages 12-18 https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org
Tier 1 Safety Resources Low Cost State-Wide Trainings Wisconsin Safe and Healthy Schools Youth Mental Health First Aid PREPaRE-Development of Safety Plans and Recovery Activities Screen, Brief Intervention and Referral to Services Restorative Practices wishschools.org
Tier 1 Safety Resources DPI’s Mandatory Reporting of School Violence Threats Online Training • Mandatory training for all school employees throughout the state (ACT 143) • Approximately ten minutes to complete • Interactive in nature; including real-life scenarios • Proof of completion email sent to supervisor https://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/required-trainings
Tier 1 Safety Resources Confidential Tip Lines • DOJ Office of School Safety will soon be offering a tip line for school district use • Some schools already contract for a tip line and can continue to do so • Capitol Police will be trained to take calls and route to the correct school district and local law enforcement
Tier 2 Safety Resources Screen, Brief Intervention, Referral To Treatment (SBIRT) Evidence-Based Can address a myriad of issues including • Alcohol and Drug Use • Attendance • Mental Health resource seeking behavior http://www.wishschools.org/resources/schoolsbirt.cfm
Tier 2 Safety Resources Global Assessment of Individual Needs Short Screener (GAIN SS) • Effective SBIRT screener • Free to use from the DPI website • Ease of administration/Quick-20 questions • Assesses 4 domains-Internalizing Disorders, Externalizing Disorders, Substance Disorders, and Crime/Violence https://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/mental-health/behavioral-screening-tools/gain-ss
Tier 2 Safety Resources Peer Groups Peers are more likely than adults to receive confidential information from students • Programs like Link Crew are popular ways to connect peers at the high school level: http://www.boomerangproject.com/link/what-link-crew Peer groups have proven effective in Suicide Prevention. Two growing peer-based suicide prevention programs in Wisconsin are: • Sources of Strength: https://sourcesofstrength.org/ • Hope Squad: http://hopesquad.com/
Tier 3 Safety Resources Threat Assessment/Inquiry Teams* • Teams made up of administrators, law enforcement, student services staff, teachers and others • Used to determine if a student poses a threat to the school community (not made a threat*) • Purpose is to determine a need for assistance and render that assistance to a student (consequences may be a result of the inquiry, but are not the purpose) • Not a mental health assessment, although existing assessments may be taken into consideration or a mental health assessment may be suggested as a result of the threat assessment. *ACT 143 requires the of reporting serious and imminent threats to local law enforcement • https://www.doj.state.wi.us/office-school-safety/school-safety-resources
Tier 3 Safety Resources Means Restriction An established and effective intervention in suicide prevention Requires asking families (and others) about lethal means, to which, a young person may have access Restricting lethal means during time of crises can prevent injury or death http://www.sprc.org/comprehensive-approach/reduce-means
Tier 3 Safety Resources Referrals and Critical Response Teams Referrals may be made to: School resources School-based mental health services Community mental health services County Human Services, ex: Crisis Stabilization Centers Courts/Law Enforcement Office of School Safety Critical Response Teams In development-responding professionals will be pre-trained in crisis response Most likely CESA based Able to quickly travel to districts in need for any crisis
Complementary Programming Suicide Prevention and Bullying Prevention Important and related aspects of school safety Provide model programming that can be borrowed for school safety efforts; what we’ve learned: • Having strong policy and procedures helps respond to and mitigate problems • Staff and peers are important gatekeepers of what is happening in a school • An Equitable Multi-Tiered System of Support provides an effective outline of interventions https://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/mental-health/youth-suicide-prevention https://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/safe-schools/bullying-prevention
A Comprehensive Framework for School Safety Suicide and Bullying Prevention School Safety Threat Assessment Inquiry/Means Restriction/Referrals/Critical Response Teams Threat of Suicide Assessment/ Referrals/Means Restriction SBIRT/GAIN SS/Peer Programs Peer Programs/Screeners/Small Groups Policy/Curriculum/Trainings/Reporting Safety Plans Teams/Drills/Trainings/Tip line
What Can Parents Do? • Ask to participate on district safety teams • Review your school’s safety plan • Talk with your children about their concerns https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-climate-safety-and-crisis/school-violence-resources/talking-to-children-about-violence-tips-for-parents-and-teachers