Behavioral assessment teams: a community college model

1. Behavioral assessment teams: a community college model NASPA National Conference March 14, 2011 Dr. Kate Mueller Dean, Student Services Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA

2. Workshop Description This workshop illustrates one college's model of a Behavioral Assessment Team (BAT), addressing disconcerting behavior on campus. Session includes: • logistics of a BAT • its purpose • how to develop and train a team • how to implement a BAT • case studies

3. Overview of Workshop At one point a few years back, I realized there was an increasing number of student conduct cases in which I was calling upon the Director of our Student Health Center for consultation. As situations emerged in which threats were possible or clear, we both realized a consistent protocol was essential.

4. Overview of Workshop Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending upon your perspective, we had the opportunity to test-drive our protocol shortly after writing it. We are happy to report it was successful, providing us with a tool then, and now, for handling potential and actual threatening situations.

5. Workshop Objectives Participants will understand … • What student behaviors warrant the activation of a Behavioral Assessment Team • What a Behavioral Assessment Team is, including size and membership • The purpose of a Behavioral Assessment Team • How to build a Behavioral Assessment Team • When to involve on-campus and off-campus partners • How to educate the campus about your Behavioral Assessment Team (its role and when to contact them)

6. We Know That It Happens …

7. But It’s Not An Epidemic …

8. … Yet It Is A Reality

9. How Do You Mitigate It?

10. How Will You Be As Ready As You Possibly Can?

11. While we cannot foresee every incident or stop every incident, we can certainly prevent some of the incidents, or mitigate the damage, by being proactive …

12. While we cannot foresee every incident or stop every incident, we can certainly prevent some of the incidents, or mitigate the damage, by being proactive … Prevention Preparedness Response Recovery

13. Prevention “… identify actions or strategies to prevent potential crisis events from occurring or at least mitigate the impact of such events if they do occur … Campuses must constantly monitor their environment for potential situations or events that could threaten the campus community.” NASPA’s In Search of Safer Communities (2008), page 8.

14. Preparedness “Recognizing that not all crisis events can be prevented, campuses must also prepare for likely crisis events … campuses [need to] develop plans and train personnel to respond to a variety of potential crisis events.” NASPA’s In Search of Safer Communities (2008), page 8.

15. Response Response “consists of actions taken and decisions made during the actual crisis event. It may happen during the course of a few hours or perhaps a few days.” NASPA’s In Search of Safer Communities (2008), page 8.

16. Recovery Recovery “may last for weeks, months, or even years. It consists of actions and decisions made in the aftermath of the crisis that are focused on returning the campus community to a sense of normalcy.” NASPA’s In Search of Safer Communities (2008), page 8.

17. Threat Assessment Teams “Threat assessment teams ‘are the single best tool we have’ to identify people who may pose a risk and to intervene if necessary.” Inside Higher Education Article: “Assessing the Threat” by Scott Jaschik (02.15.10) http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/02/15/threat

18. One Model of a Behavioral Assessment Team Alternative names: Behavioral Intervention Team Threat Assessment Team

19. Orange Coast College Threat Assessment Process Core team: Dean , Student Services (Dean of Students) Associate Dean, Student Health Services Director, Campus Safety

20. Orange Coast College Threat Assessment Process • Notification of threat/issue received • If conduct is the issue, the dean of students addresses issue • If alleged threat represents a danger to self or others, and/or involves mental or physical health issues, the director of health services consults. • The dean of students and director of health services meet with student to assess alleged threat/issue. • If the threat/issue is deemed valid, the student is informed that he/she is suspended until clearance is obtained from a mental health professional regarding safety of self and others. • If the student is already in the mental health system, obtain a consent form to release information and communicate with the student’s mental health provider and family or significant other. • If the student does not have a mental health provider, he/she may use the counselors at the student health center or be referred to community providers. In an emergency, the county centralized assessment team can assess the student. Published in NASPA’s Winter 2008 Leadership Exchange

21. Step 1 Orange Coast College Behavioral/Threat Assessment Process • Notification of threat/issue received by the Dean of Student Services (sometimes Campus Safety or Health Center contacted first). If an employee, the Director of Personnel is the fourth team member. Training is important, as is being on the same page.

22. Step 2 • Dean of Student Services addresses the student conduct issue. “Context is the issue”(Gavin De Becker, page 108)

23. Step 3 • If alleged threat is assessed to be an actual or clear potential danger to self or others, and/or involves mental or physical health issues, Dean of Student Services consults with other team members: Director of Health Services, Director of Campus Safety

24. Step 4 • Dean of Student Services, Director of Health Services, and Campus Safety Officer meet with student to assess alleged threat/issue. (Email, text, phone call instead if cannot get in the same room together.) These calls take priority.

25. Step 5 5. If assessed that there is indeed a threat, the student is informed that he/she is restricted from campus until clearance is obtained from a mental health professional regarding safety of self and others. In our college, we can also suspend for up to ten days (non-appealable).

26. Mental Health Clearance • Mental Health Clearance (sanction 4.5 of the Coast Community College District Student Code of Conduct (policy #030-10) • “Section 4.5: Mental Health Clearance. Mental Health Clearance may be required before a student is readmitted to a particular class or allowed to come onto District Property. The College Disciplinary Administrator must receive a letter from a licensed mental health professional stating that in his/her professional judgment the student will no longer continue the behavior which gave rise to the College Disciplinary Administrator taking disciplinary action against him/her or that the student's continued presence on campus is not a threat to himself/herself or others. The mental health professional must be licensed by the State of California and the College District Administer must verify that the mental health professional is credentialed to render a professional opinion. The student shall bear the cost and expense of obtaining mental health clearance.”

27. Step 6 • If the student is already in the mental health system / under a doctor’s care, obtain consent to release information and communicate with the student’s mental health provider, and family or significant other as appropriate. (It is helpful to have a form developed and ready for these incidents.)

28. Step 7 7. If the student does not have a mental health provider, he/she may use the counselors at the student health center or be referred to community providers. If statements or behavior is serious, the local police are called. In turn, the County of Orange centralized assessment team is called to assess the student. Assessment might include a 5150 of the student (72 hour observation).

29. Defining “Us” Think for a moment … Who will the “us” be, or who is the “us”, on your campus? Who should you have on your threat assessment team?

30. Characteristics Characteristics … • Problem solving skills • Calm in a crisis • Communicator • Student-centered, conscious of safety • Can roll with things! • Adaptable / flexible / able to prioritize

31. Suggestions for Teams • Counseling Center • Student Judicial Affairs • Disability Services • Campus Counsel • College or University Police • Campus Violence Prevention Program • Dean of Students • Student Health Center Director • Employee Assistance Program College Student Mental Health: Effective Services and Strategies Across Campus, p. 27

32. Looking Inward Think of a minimum of 3 people who should serve on a Behavioral Assessment Team on your campus. • Who handles safety? • Who handles student conduct? • Do you have a health center? Mental health counseling? • How about a faculty member? • If you have a Crisis Alert / Management Team, that’s a good place to start in selecting the Team.

33. The Team In Action …

34. React Calmly; Stay Open to Incoming Information Keep in mind … “… it’s important to react calmly, because when in alarm we stop evaluating information mindfully and start doing it physically.” “Another time people stop perceiving new information is when they prematurely judge someone as guilty or not guilty.” De Becker, page 117

35. Questioning Things to ask … “When any type of threat includes indirect or veiled references to things they might do, such as ‘You’ll be sorry,’ or ‘Don’t mess with me,’ it is best to ask directly, ‘What do you mean by that?’ Ask exactly what the person is threatening to do. His elaboration will almost always be weaker than his implied threat.” De Becker, page 121

36. Questioning Ask about: Friends Family Hobbies Classes Who they talk to about their life Any recent changes in their life Access to weapons If they are thinking about harming themselves, or others If they mention medical care, get some details

37. When to End the Questions With some students, you won’t get anywhere … remember the adage “You can’t reason with a crazy person.” Don’t assume the student thinks logically; you might realize they are not thinking logically. In that case, you cannot teach or reach the student through logic. “If he were reasonable, he wouldn’t have pursued this behavior in the first place. There is no straight talk for crooked people.” ~ De Becker, p. 131

38. Snap! Know this … It has been shown “that people don’t just ‘snap.’ There is a process as observable, and often as predictable, as water coming to a boil.” Unfortunately, “obvious warnings are frequently ignored.” ~ De Becker, p. 150

39. Targeted Violence Know this … “... Incidents of targeted violence in school are so infrequent” Cautioned “against any generalizations made from such a minority of cases” ~ “Evaluating Risk for Targeted Violence in Schools …”, p. 162

40. Educating Your Campus

41. When to Call in the Experts What should be said to staff and faculty: “We do not expect you to handle these behavioral-sciences issues. We do not expect you to know about how to manage people that are alarming or volatile. If you can manage 95 percent of the people you are dealing with, that’s an accomplishment. The 5 percent that depart from normal behavior – those that intimidate, threaten, or frighten – they should be reported to us.” De Becker, page 164

42. Educating Others We need to educate about our processes, and encourage people to report potential or actual problems. “Many situations that evolved into violence had been brewing for a long time, and senior executives had no idea what was going on. Why? Because nobody wanted to report it to a supervisor. Why? Because someone might say, ‘Hey, can’t you handle your own people? Don’t you know how to handle these things?’” ~ De Becker, p. 163

43. Educating Others Organizations should educate and encourage people to: “Consider safety first.” “Ask the right questions.” “Communicate concerns clearly and early.” ~ De Becker, p. 163

44. Now Picture This …

45. Imagination While it might not be comfortable, we must face the possibilities. In order to be proactive, to cultivate plans for potential realities, sometimes we must allow our imaginations to take us to some dark and scary places. “ … if you cannot imagine it, you cannot predict it.” ~ De Becker, p. 194

46. Case Studies

47. “The Ultimate Outcome” “The ultimate outcome of any disturbing event is a review, evaluation, and determination of what can be done to prevent, respond, or educate in the future. Essentially the model would have a circular flow that allows for continual improvement of policy, response systems, and preparation of the campus at many levels.” College Student Mental Health: Effective Services and Strategies Across Campus, p. 148

48. RECAP: Orange Coast College Threat Assessment Process • Notification of threat/issue received • If conduct is the issue, the dean of students addresses issue • If alleged threat represents a danger to self or others, and/or involves mental or physical health issues, the director of health services consults. • The dean of students and director of health services meet with student to assess alleged threat/issue. • If the threat/issue is deemed valid, the student is informed that he/she is suspended until clearance is obtained from a mental health professional regarding safety of self and others. • If the student is already in the mental health system, obtain a consent form to release information and communicate with the student’s mental health provider and family or significant other. • If the student does not have a mental health provider, he/she may use the counselors at the student health center or be referred to community providers. In an emergency, the county centralized assessment team can assess the student.

49. Resources Association for Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) http://www.atapworldwide.org/ National Center for Higher Education Risk Management (NCHERM) http://www.ncherm.org/ Center for Aggression Management http://www.aggressionmanagement.com/Higher_Education/ http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777958.html provides a list of schools shootings since February 1996

50. Resources ASJA Presentation, 2008 www.tts.uwosh.edu/dean/asja/ASJA%20Presentation.ppt National Incident Management System (NIMS) http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/ NASPA/Stetson Student Affairs Law and Policy Conference http://www.naspa.org/programs/law/default.cfm Stetson/NASPA Certificate Program in Student Affairs Law and Policy http://www.naspa.org/programs/lawcert/default.cfm