The Department of Behavioral Health, or DBH, operates the DBH/School Behavioral Health Program (SBHP) and is guiding the expansion of school based behavioral health services to all the District’s public and public charter schools through partnerships with Community Based Organizations, or “CBOs.” How much do you know about this expansion and the services available to students?
PIC 7: Text for THE DEPARTMENT OF BEHAVIOR HEALTH appears, with the D in “department,” “B” in “behavior,” and “H” in “health” highlighted. The title then changes to the acronym DBH.
PIC 8: A new text line appears for SCHOOL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROGRAM with the first letter of each word highlighted. This also gets abbreviated to SBHP.
PIC 9: A subheader entitled “The Expansion” appears below the acronyms, along with the logo for the Behavioral Health Services.
PIC 10: Finally, text for “Community Based Organizations” appears. The first letter for each word is highlighted. The associated logo shows two hands forming the shape of a heart.
The District’s Comprehensive School Behavioral Health Model is a collaboration between school personnel, school hired clinicians, and DBH/SBHP and CBO clinicians.
PIC 11: A process chart shows four elements connected (DBH/SBHP, CBOs, an icon of a school staff worker, and another icon of a school hired clinician).
Its goal is to ensure every young person in the District has access to the level of care they need, whether that’s for stress, trauma, substance use, or mental health concerns.
PIC 12: A map of DC appears all filled in blue.
These school and community providers offer three tiers of trauma informed, culturally responsive, evidence based interventions.
PIC 13: A pyramid graph appears. From top to bottom, it lists Tier 1: Promotion & Prevention, Tier 2: Focused Interventions, and Tier 3: Intensive Support.
These tiers provide students with the right level of support, depending on their needs. Let’s take a closer look at each tier.
Tier 1: Promotion and Primary Prevention
All students receive Tier 1 services, which create a healthier, more positive school climate by:
PIC 14: A few icons appear one at a time. “Social skills building & positive decision making” is represented by a collection of people icons grouped together. “Resiliency building” is represented by 3 vertical lines, with the 2 outside lines getting pushed in. “Screening” is represented with a magnifying glass, and “Professional development” is represented as an award medal.
Tier 2: Focused Interventions
Only some students need Tier 2 services, those who have risk factors for developing a behavioral health issue. These students may have social/emotional challenges, behavioral issues, or substance use that’s not severe enough to meet diagnostic criteria or qualify for special education services.
PIC 15: An icon of a person seated and looking down is shown.
Behavioral health clinicians consult with and support school personnel to develop appropriate strategies for these students, such as:
PIC 16: A few more icons appear one at a time. “Student support groups” is represented by three student icons grouped together. “Skill building workshops” is represented by three icons of students seated at their desks, with an icon of a teacher talking with a speech bubble above. “Training for families, teachers, staff” is represented by an icon of a table flanked by two seated people icons, and an icon of an instructor in between them.
You will learn more about referring a student for services like these in chapter 3.
Tier 3: Intensive Support
A few students require Tier 3 individualized treatment to help them function in school, at home, and in their communities. These are students with active behavioral health symptoms that meet diagnostic criteria. Services and crisis interventions may be provided to individuals, groups, and families and may be offered at school or in the student’s home or community.
PIC 17: An icon for “Individualized treatment” is represented by two people icons. An arrow is pointing from one icon towards the other.
Now that you know more about the services available, let’s talk about what you, as a teacher or staff member, can do to begin a student on the path of receiving Tier 2 or Tier 3 services.
PIC 18: The 3 tiered pyramid image appears again.