Expanding PBIS Teams to Include Community Mental Health Partners

It is becoming widely understood that it is best practice for school districts to establish one system of social/emotional and behavior supports. This framework is called the Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF) and it blends Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) with mental health supports. One core feature of an ISF is the expansion of PBIS leadership teams to include school and community mental health clinicians. This ensures that the interventions provided to students and families can be managed and monitored for effectiveness and it avoids staff burn-out caused by an overload of meetings and overlapping efforts.

Community employed clinicians in schools have traditionally determined strategies and interventions independently and then shared information with school staff about how to support a limited number of specific students. In an ISF, these partners are active team members who collaborate in decision-making about intervention selection and progress monitoring. Furthermore, at the school level, team discussion may address all students regardless of who ultimately provides the intervention. While this practice may raise concerns regarding the confidentiality of student records and mental health concerns, it is the responsibility of the district to define policies about confidentiality with partnering agencies and then to document the decisions in contractual agreements or memorandums of understanding (MOUs). 

As one may suspect, integrating two teams of individuals who have traditionally carried out their functions independently of one another will require cross-training and careful planning to learn about each system. Objectives of a cross training plan may include reviewing job descriptions, explaining the MTSS framework including how it supports school mental health, and identifying the core components of Tier 1 and roles/responsibilities in Tiers 2 and 3. 

Installing and implementing an Interconnected Systems Framework requires collaboration and dedication, but the resulting system will improve access and mental health supports for all students. This Implementation Guide is a “how-to” manual that can guide the work. The Student Wellness Department can assist! Reach out to Mary Wise, at [email protected], if you’d like to learn more.