What is a Student Assistance Program?

“Student Assistance Programs are a school-based approach to providing focused services to students needing interventions for academics, behavior, and attendance often due to deeper concerns relating to substance abuse, mental health, or emotional or social issues for students in Kindergarten through grade 12. Characterized by a team approach, this professional, systematic process is designed to provide education, prevention, early identification, intervention, referral and support services for students exhibiting risk behaviors which are interfering with their education.” - National Student Assistance Association

What do Student Assistance Programs Look Like?

Student Assistance Programs provide an umbrella of prevention, identification, screening, intervention and support strategies within a school, often in collaboration with a community support network.

Three Models:

–Counselor Model –Community Agency Model –Core Team Model

Safe and Healthy Kids Annual Report 2004-05

• 423 of 858 LEAs reporting indicated that they had a “systematic program of identification and intervention with students showing signs of problems with substances and/or violence.”

Local Educational Agency Plans

– Goal 4: • 353 of 1300 LEAs indicated that they planned to use a Student Assistance Program as a research based strategy for prevention/intervention in AOD use and to provide the resiliency skills and protective factors leading to positive social skills and attitudes and reductions in seven antisocial behaviors.

How are students identified and referred to the Student Assistance Program?

•Teacher Referral •Self-Referral •Counselor Referral •Parent Referral 41% 29% 23% 7%

What services do Student Assistance Programs Provide?

Multiple services to meet the specific needs of individual student participants.

•Group instruction or facilitation (e.g. classroom prevention education) •Small support groups •Individual counseling •Referrals to both school-based services (e.g. tutoring, after-school activities, career services) and community-based services (e.g. health care, social services organizations)

Why are Student Assistance Programs needed?

•Many students today experience significant emotional or behavioral issues that impede their ability to be ready to learn and engage in classroom activities and to even be present at school. These issues can manifest into a host of problems, such as: •Academic failure •Alcohol and Other Drug Use •Truancy •Violent behavior/Bullying

Students Served and Duration of Services • The number of students served varies greatly, based on Student Assistance Program services.

• The duration of services varies greatly based on individual needs and services offered. Services are usually brief, with over 50% reporting duration of less than 12 weeks; however, 20% indicated that length of services is based on need.

2008-09 Student Assistance Program Training in Ventura County

• VCOE – November 3 rd , 4 th , & 5 th • Presenters: Kathy Estes and Larry Newman