School Safety and Youth in Crisis (08/27/2015)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SCHOOL SAFETY AND YOUTH IN CRISIS

Date:	08/27/2015	ATTENDANCE

Time:	08:06 AM to 11:09 AM	Cadman	X
		Crews	*
Place:	RM 271	Duran	X
		Ganahl	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Harms	X
	Senator Scheffel	Kerr	X
		Lawson	X
This Report was prepared by		McDonald	*
	Rachel Kurtz-Phelan	Moreno	X
		Newell	X
		O'Donnell	*
		Scheffel	X
		Silvia	X
		Weinerman	E
		Wilson	X
		Willett	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Introductory Remarks and Presentation by Mental Health America of Colorado CDE Presentation Panel discussion concerning youth in crisis Public Comment		Witness Testimony Witness Testimony Witness Testimony Witness Testimony

08:08 AM -- Introductory Remarks and Presentation by Mental Health America of Colorado

Senator Scheffel, chair, called the meeting to order and introduced Desiree Davis, Special Advisor to the committee. Ms. Davis introduced herself and told the committee what she hopes that the committee achieves during the interim to help youth in crisis. President Cadman provided introductory remarks to the committee and spoke about bullying in schools.

08:13 AM

Senator Scheffel invited Michael Lott-Manier, Assistant Director of Public Policy, Mental Health America of Colorado, to the table to begin his presentation. Mr. Lott-Manier spoke about the language of Senate Bill 15-214, and told the committee about the prevalence of suicide and suicide attempts among youth in Colorado. He said that it is important to consider mental health in the safety of students and the need to study programs that can help track students in crisis. He provided demographics and population-level statistics about youth mental health and explained that 50 percent of adolescents in the United States meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition. He provided the specific criteria used to define mental disorders and said that deviant behavior is not necessarily a sign of a mental health disorder. He spoke about youth versus adult brain development, and the difference between mental health conditions in youth and mental health conditions in adults. He said that poor mental health can lead to poor academic performance, and talked about the the risk factors associated with mental health conditions, including genetics, head injuries, and environmental issues such as family and home environment. He talked about the need for culturally and geographically competent and sensitive solutions to these issues the acknowledge the difference between urban, rural, and frontier populations.

08:24 AM

Mr. Lott-Manier spoke about the results of the Healthy Kids Survey that was distributed to students in public schools in Colorado, focusing on the results of questions related to suicide attempts and drug use. He said that suicide is the second leading cause of death for Coloradans between ages 10 to 24, and that most suicide attempts and death occur during a crisis which means that situational control and means restrictions are important to consider when discussing suicide prevention. He spoke about the types of interventions that youth receive, which include universal prevention (most prevalent); selective prevention; indicated preventative; and treatment, which should be the lowest use so that resources can be focused in the most efficient way.

08:32 AM

Mr. Lott-Manier provided the definition of "school safety" from the Washington State School Safety Center and the definition of "youth in crisis." He talked about the difference between crisis intervention, which is insufficient for protecting all students, and crisis prevention, which is more of a public health-conscious way of looking at the issue. He provided national statistics about the prevalence of violence in U.S. public schools, such as that 20 percent of students report being bullied on school property and 15 percent report being cyber-bullied, and that 5 percent report having carried a weapon onto school property sometime in the last month. He explained that most non-fatal violent victimization happens on school property. He talked about the risk factors for youth violence in terms of personal, family, community, and social risk factors, and stated that 90 percent of suicides are associated with depression or other mental health issues. He discussed the protective factors for youth safety in terms of personal, family, community, and social factors and told the committee about the benefit of universal programs in schools that educate all students about violence prevention and have been shown to lead to a decline in violent behavior.

08:43 AM

He discussed examples of legislation from other states, including Texas (SB 13-460), Oregon (HB 13-2756), Nebraska (LB 13-556), Utah (HB 13-154 and HB 13-298), Connecticut (SB 13-1160 and SB 13-972) and Washington (HB 13-1336). He focused on SB 12-972 in Connecticut, which concerns the mental, emotional, and behavioral health of youths. He made other suggestions about information that may be helpful to the committee, including: Colorado Education: Framework for School Behavioral Health Services; Massachusetts Task Force Report on School Safety and Security; California School-Based Health Alliance: Connecting Students to Mental Health Services; Youth Mental Health First Aid; and Colorado Crisis Services. He made policy recommendations to the committee that included the need for universal prevention, the importance of addressing inequities facing certain youth populations, and the need to leverage recent policy gains.

08:52 AM

Mr. Lott-Manier answered questions from the committee about teacher training requirements pertaining to youth mental health in other states and disparities between the percentage of youth versus adult populations with mental health disorders. He answered questions about legislation focusing on keeping youth in school as opposed to suspension and expulsion and the importance of keeping youth connected with their peers and removing them from a particular situation instead of completely from a school environment. He discussed privacy laws and policies impacting information sharing between mental health professionals and school professionals.

09:08 AM

Mr. Lott-Manier continued answering questions from the committee about the differences between larger and smaller schools, and about the ability of and need for schools to bring in parents and families when there is a mental health issue with a student. He talked about the shortage of and training of youth mental health providers and about the importance of expanding telehealth to rural areas. He discussed the need to continue arts, music, and physical education programming in schools to increase social connectedness and having a sense of purpose for students. He concluded by discussing the need for public-private partnerships to provide some programming in schools, and about the number and effectiveness of school-based health centers.

09:25 AM -- CDE Presentation

Senator Scheffel invited Rebecca Holmes, Associate Commissioner of Innovation, Choice, and Engagement, Colorado Department of Education, to the table to begin her presentation. She distributed several handouts (Attachments A through D). She talked about the mandatory reporting requirements for schools, mainly in terms of school health and safety, and provided statistics related to student health, wellness, and discipline. She talked about the role of school health professionals, which include mental health providers, school counselors, and school nurses, and their relationships with parents and ability to connect families with resources. She discussed the recommended ratios of school health professionals to students and where Colorado compares to national recommendations, and about the school behavioral health services framework.

15SchoolSafety0827AttachA.pdf

15SchoolSafety0827AttachB.pdf

15SchoolSafety0827AttachC.pdf

15SchoolSafety0827AttachD.pdf

09:35 AM

Ms. Holmes explained that CDE's charge in this arena is in relation to school climate as opposed to mental health, and outlined specific ways in which the department fulfills its charge which include comprehensive health and physical education standards, Project AWARE, School Nurse Regional System, School Medicaid Program, School Health Professionals Grant Program, Healthy Schools Data and Coalition Building, Traumatic Brain Injury Support System, Counselor Corps Grant Program, Dropout Prevention and Student Re-engagement activities, Positive behavior/learning supports, and Exceptional Student Services Unit. She discussed in further detail the funded and unfunded state grant programs pertaining to behavioral health in schools. She told the committee that the unfunded grant programs are the Health Choices Dropout Prevention Pilot Program and the Bullying Prevention and Education Grant Program. She talked about the power of peers for students in crisis, and provided a copy of the safe schools assurance form(Attachment C). She explained that 100 percent of districts have submitted a safe schools assurance form, but that CDE does not have a role in reviewing the school safety plans themselves.

09:44 AM

She shared with the committee where schools tell CDE more resources are needed, which include professional development; funding for safe school efforts; time for prevention and early intervention; stigma reduction efforts; formal referral processes; collaborative monitoring of student progress; prioritization, accountability, and measurement; capacity for, and comfort with, data collection and data-driven decision making; behavioral health professionals embedded in school culture; financial and legal liability; role confusion among school health professionals; bridging pre-kindergarten and school-aged supports; services for students transitioning from treatment; and self-care for school staff. Ms. Holmes answered questions from the committee about school safety plans and assurance forms. She said that generally, school safety policies are similar across the board except they are seeing a variation in those districts that are moving away from zero-tolerance expulsion policies.

10:01 AM -- Panel discussion concerning youth in crisis

The committee took a brief recess.

10:16 AM

The committee came back to order. Senator Scheffel invited the members of the next panel to the table. They included Christine Harms, Director, School Safety Resource Center, Rebecca Holmes, Associate Director, CDE, and Jarrod Hindman, Suicide Prevention Unit Manager, Office of Suicide Prevention, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Mr. Hindman introduced himself and told the committee about his background. He stated that 220 schools and 40,000 youth participated in the most recent Healthy Kids Colorado survey. He explained that the data from the survey can now be looked at from a regional perspective. He said that his office is looking at both risk factors and protective factors, and are examining shared factors instead of working in subject-matter silos. He said that studies show when there is an increase in school engagement for students, it impacts multiple areas of violence including bullying, suicide, and sexual assault. He spoke about the Sources of Strength pilot program which focuses on protective factors for suicide prevention.

10:28 AM

The panelists answered questions pertaining to student engagement which can be defined as a student's perception of feeling connected to school. Heidi Ganahl asked about the anonymity of the Healthy Kids Colorado survey. Ms. Holmes responded that even though the survey has anonymity controls in place, school districts are concerned about privacy issues. Greg McDonald asked about length of survey and expressed his concern with how much time is taken away from class time. The committee members discussed how to encourage more schools to participate in the survey and talked about suicide prevention programs and tactics in further detail.

10:43 AM

Mr. Hindman told the committee that his office works to coordinate suicide prevention across the life span, not just for youth, and talked about the mission and charge of the suicide prevention commission. He discussed some of the specific programs that his office is currently working on and answered questions about data on the link between suicide and homicide. The panelists answered questions regarding what to do about the issues of communication and how to handle privacy regulations. In response, Ms. Harms spoke about the new Colorado Crisis Services as a way to help improve communications and bridge the gap between schools, parents, and mental health specialists. The committee spoke about the need to hear student voices. Mr. Hindman spoke about the peer leader model of the Sources of Strength program and Ms. Harms spoke about the Safe2Tell program as ways to engage students.

10:58 AM

The panel answered questions about what exactly schools need to do to make sure their students are safe at school. Ms. Harms responded that it needs to be a variety of things, from abiding by the Safe schools Act, having trained all staff members that need to be trained, implementing bullying and suicide prevention programs, determining how to respond to a variety of types of incidents, strengthening school threat assessment protocols, and putting in place an incident recovery team (Attachment E).

15SchoolSafety0827AttachE.pdf

11:04 AM -- Public Comment

There were no witnesses signed up to testify. Senator Kerr spoke about some of the school safety work done in Jefferson County schools.

11:09 AM

The committee adjourned.