February 2007

Question:
I am the project director at a new site. We have a need for some Technical Assistance around school involvement here in our counties. The issues in schools that keep coming up are assessment, coordination, IDEA, social marketing, and attitudes surveys to name a few. Can you offer any advice or resources that would help us address these issues?

Answer:
In response to this question, I suggested a series of conference calls with the new site’s leadership team, including family members and youth. We set up the call, and I sent a set of questions in advance for the team to consider for our discussions. These may be helpful as you consider your coordination and partnership with schools and as you develop a strategic plan for school collaboration for your SOC.

Discussion Questions for Developing School Collaborations:

1. What representatives from the school district participated in the formation of the original grant application to CMHS?
2. Has that same person(s) remained involved after the grant was funded?
3. Does anyone from the school department(s) sit on your governing board, advisory board or committees?
4. What have been some of your activities to acquaint the schools with your SOC initiative?
5. How many possible referrals have been generated from the school district? Do you anticipate more or less for any reason?
6. Who are the primary people in the schools who support the children and youth in your community that have more severe needs? Who are the people that support their families? Are they special education teachers, social workers, school psychologists, guidance counselors or assistant principals?
7. What has the project done to include those key support people in your training and marketing ventures?
8. Do the schools have a pre-referral team that meets on a regular basis to discuss children that are having problems?
9. What is the continuum of services for students with “serious emotional disorders” as classified by the special education system? Do these supports include regular classes with supports, special education classes with supports, separate programs, separate schools or residential program?
10. Currently, how are families and the schools working together to meet the needs of these students? Do families feel it is a partnership or “us against them?”
11. What is the drop-out rate for a typical high school in your community?
12. What is the crime rate for 16-21 year olds in your community?
13. What is the unemployment rate in your county?
14. What does the partnership with Juvenile Justice, law enforcement and community agencies look like at this point?
15. What is the average cost of an out-of-district residential placement per child? What is the average cost of special day school or alternative day program per child?
16. What does the SOC core team see as the vision for 3 years or 5 years down the road for schools within your system of care?

Further Resources
To answer some of the data-related questions, such as drop-out rates, take a look at the Common Core of Data (CCD), which provides school and district-level data around key education indicators. To find out more about the kind of information the CCD provides and how to access it, read the June 2006 Education FAQ: http://www.tapartnership.org/advisors/education/faq/June06.asp