Webinar: Mental Health Services in Schools For Students with Intellectual / Developmental Disabilities

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Welcome to the U.S.C. UCEDD Webinar Series for Individuals with Disabilities & Parents

funded by grant #90DD0695 from

the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (A.I.D.D.) Administration on Community Living

January 26, 2017

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Your Moderator

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Susan Kanegawa U.S.C. UCEDD Family Support Coordinator [email protected] www.uscucedd.org

The U.S.C. University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (U.S.C. UCEDD) is one of 68 UCEDDs funded to promote systemic change, advocacy, and capacity building in states on behalf of individuals with, or at risk for, developmental, behavioral and/or special health care needs, and their families. The U.S.C. UCEDD Webinar series is designed to educate the community about current policy issues which impact the lives of people we serve and their families. Our primary audience is individuals with special needs and their families. At this time, our webinars are in English only. We are exploring methods to make this series available in other languages in the future.

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Structure and Logistics

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Mental Health Services in Schools For Students with Intellectual and

Developmental Disabilities

Nishanthi Kurukulasuriya Staff Attorney

Mental Health Advocacy Services, Inc.

January 26, 2017

The views and opinions expressed in this presentation are the speaker’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the U.S.C. UCEDD or C.H.L.A.

About Nishanthi Kurukulasuriya

Mental Health Advocacy Services, Inc. (M.H.A.S.) is a private, non-profit organization providing free legal services to people with mental disabilities. M.H.A.S. assists both children and adults, with an emphasis on obtaining government benefits and services, protecting rights, and fighting discrimination.

M.H.A.S. also provides training and technical assistance to attorneys, mental health professionals, consumer and family member groups, and other advocates. In addition, M.H.A.S. participates in impact litigation to improve the lives of people with mental disabilities.

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Nishanthi is a staff attorney with Mental Health Advocacy Services in Los Angeles.

[email protected] www.mhas-la.org

Mental Health Services

Available in Schools

Who Provides These Mental

Health Services?

Strategies for Developing an

I.E.P.

How to Be an Effective Advocate

Overview of the Webinar

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Mental Health Services

Available in Schools

Who Provides These Mental

Health Services?

Strategies for Developing an

I.E.P.

How to Be an Effective Advocate

What Kinds of Mental Health Services Are Available in Schools?

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

• Purpose: IDEA ensures that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Special education and related services should be designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.

• Services at no cost to the parent

• Individualized Education Program (I.E.P.)

• Least Restrictive Environment (L.R.E.)

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

• Parents have rights to address:

• Procedural violations of IDEA (Compliance Complaint)

• Substantive violations of IDEA (Due Process Complaint)

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Photo courtesy of Sal Falco

I.E.P. Versus 504 Plan

• I.E.P. comes from the IDEA – IDEA ensures students with disabilities are offered FAPE – Focus on educating eligible students by designing

education plan that will meet their unique needs – More procedural protections than Section 504

• 504 Plan comes from Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973 – Section 504 prohibits discrimination based on disability – Focus is on equal opportunity for students with disabilities to

obtain the same benefit as their peers without disabilities

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Assessment and Eligibility

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• Request assessment in writing

– Reason(s) for assessment must be related to child’s education (i.e., ability to learn, social skills, behavior)

• Proposed assessment plan

– 15 days after request (excludes days during school breaks that are longer than 5 days)

– Make sure plan includes assessments to address all concerns in request, e.g., Social-emotional, assessment for Educationally-Related Mental Health Services, Functional Behavioral Assessment

– Sign consent and return to school to start 60-day timeline

Assessment and Eligibility (cont’d)

• I.E.P. meeting within 60 days

– Discuss results of assessment, eligibility, offer of FAPE (i.e., educational placement and services)

– Multiple eligible categories possible

• Emotional Disturbance: includes conditions in which children are unable to build relationships with peers and teachers, have inappropriate behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances, or have a general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression

• Individual Educational Evaluation

– Parents have a right to this, if they disagree with assessment results (e.g., if assessment results indicate child’s disability does not affect their educational performance enough to qualify them for an I.E.P.)

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Special Education and Related Services

• Special Education: Specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability

– Adapts the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction, as appropriate, to address the unique needs that result from the student’s disability

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Related Services • Related Services:

Supportive services that are required to help a child with a disability benefit from special education – Includes, but is not limited to:

• psychological services • social work services • assistive technology • transportation

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Note: All placements and services are available for consideration. Schools cannot limit special education or related services to certain educational placements.

Educationally-Related Mental Health Services

• Educationally-Related Mental Health Services (ERMHS) also known as Educationally-Related Intensive Counseling Services (ERICS)

• May be appropriate for students with behavioral, emotional, social or mental health concerns that interfere with educational progress

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Educationally-Related Mental Health Services (cont’d)

• ERMHS, also known as ERICS, may include a wide variety of mental health-related services:

• Individual or group counseling by a licensed clinician • Parent or family counseling by a licensed clinician • Training for teachers or family members • Case management • Wraparound services

• ERMHS assessment

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Behavior Support Plan or Behavior Intervention Plan

• If a student’s behavior interferes with his/her ability to access education, a Behavior Support Plan (B.S.P.) or Behavior Intervention Plan (B.I.P.) may be appropriate.

• Parents or educational rights holders can request a Functional Behavior Assessment (F.B.A.), which analyzes the A.B.C.s of behavior (Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence) to determine the appropriate plan to change behavior and improve learning.

Note: Assessment timelines apply (15 days to respond to request, 60 days to conduct assessment and hold I.E.P.)

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Behavior Support Plan or Behavior Intervention Plan (cont’d)

• B.S.P. may include: – skills training – strategies for the teacher – incentives and positive reinforcements – teaching coping and self-monitoring skills – More

• Make sure teachers and other staff working with child are aware of the B.S.P. and know how to implement

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Procedural Safeguards

• Compliance Complaint – Procedural violations – California Department of Education

• Due Process Complaint – Denial of FAPE

• Disagree with school district’s offer of services or placement

• Denied opportunity to meaningfully participate in development of I.E.P.

• Disability harassment may amount to denial of FAPE. – Office of Administrative Hearings

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Mental Health Services

Available in Schools

Who Provides These Mental

Health Services?

Strategies for Developing an

I.E.P.

How to Be an Effective Advocate

Who Provides Mental Health Services in Schools?

Who Provides Mental Health Services in Schools?

• Local education agencies (L.E.A.), which are typically local school districts, are responsible for providing mental health services for students who need them to access and benefit from their education.

• Many L.E.A.s or school districts contract with local county mental health agencies to provide ERMHS services for them under the I.E.P.

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Mental Health Services

Available in Schools

Who Provides These Mental

Health Services?

Strategies for Developing an

I.E.P.

How to Be an Effective Advocate

Strategies for Developing an I.E.P. That Meets the Student’s Unique Needs

Strategies for Developing an I.E.P. That Meets the Student’s Unique Needs

Individualize

– Account for student’s particular strengths and needs

– Present Levels of Performance and Goals

– Behavior plans

– Complement of services and equipment needed to ensure student progress

– Placements

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Strategies for Developing an I.E.P . That Meets the Student’s Unique Needs

Coordinate services

– Regional Center, community-based or private providers

– Coordination can include parent involvement to ensure consistent approach, particularly with behavior, both at school and at home

– Do not overload

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How to Be an Effective Advocate

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Mental Health Services

Available in Schools

Who Provides These Mental

Health Services?

Strategies for Developing an

I.E.P.

How to Be an Effective Advocate

Put Requests in Writing

• Requests for assessments, interim I.E.P. meetings, etc.

• Do not rely on email

• Handwritten or typed

• Make copies

• Take in to office to get it stamped with date received

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Keep Log or Notebook of specific incidents or violations to develop record for

potential complaints

• Be specific about who did (or failed to do) something, when it happened, and what your efforts were to resolve the issue

• Examples: failing to provide a service agreed to in the I.E.P., failing to timely respond to requests, changing your child’s educational placement without holding an I.E.P. meeting.

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Prepare Yourself to Be a Participant at I.E.P. Meetings

• Discuss with your child’s other service providers

– Regional Center, family support groups (Family Resource Centers), and advocacy organizations

– Talk through current issues and concerns and potential changes to services and/or placement

– Write a list of the concerns and potential changes you want to have discussed at the I.E.P. meeting

• Request and confirm interpreter, if necessary

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At the I.E.P. Meeting

• Bring someone

– Someone with knowledge of your child’s issues, e.g., Regional Center service coordinator, therapist, medical provider

– Someone to support you in the meeting, e.g., parent peer support, friend

• Bring copies of documents you want to share with I.E.P. team

– Reports and assessments from psychiatrists, therapists, counselors

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At the I.E.P. Meeting (cont’d)

• Take notes

– Who was present at the meeting?

– The nature of meeting and what issues were discussed?

• e.g., annual I.E.P., interim I.E.P., or I.E.P. to discuss results of an assessment?

– Where and when was the meeting?

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At the I.E.P. Meeting (cont’d) • Ask questions

– To participate in a meaningful way, you need to know what everyone is talking about.

– Seek clarification of issues, acronyms, and technical language when you do not understand.

– If I.E.P. goals not met, ask why to understand what changes need to be made.

• Do not be rushed into finalizing the I.E.P. if not satisfied that all relevant issues have been discussed.

– If cannot cover everything in time allotted (typically an 1 hour), ask to reconvene at a later date to complete I.E.P. meeting.

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At the I.E.P. Meeting (cont’d) • Be specific

– Goals: Specify annual and interim goals and who is responsible for evaluating/monitoring progress toward goals

– Services: What services to be provided, by whom, duration and frequency (e.g., 30 minutes/2 times a week)

– Placement: Specify how much time student will spend outside general education setting

– If child’s school, teachers, and/or service providers change, specifics in I.E.P. will be extremely helpful to new school, teachers, and/or service providers, and make interruption of services during your child’s transition less likely.

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At the I.E.P. Meeting (cont’d) • Review

– Goals, services, placement

– I.E.P. document should reflect, usually in the Notes section, the team’s discussion--particularly any concerns you raised, and the responses by other team members

– You do not need to sign the I.E.P. at the meeting -- you can take it home to review, discuss with others, and think about it. But keep in mind the proposed changes in the I.E.P. cannot begin until you sign your consent to them.

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At the I.E.P. Meeting (cont’d) • Right to Disagree

– If you and the district disagree on a proposed I.E.P., the last signed I.E.P. remains in effect while your dispute is resolved.

– If you sign the I.E.P. but change your mind, you can withdraw your consent in writing.

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Resources

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Mental Health Advocacy Services, Inc. – Education Publications http://mhas-la.org/education/ Disability Rights California – Special Education Rights and Responsibilities http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/pubs/PublicationsSERREnglish.htm California Office of Administrative Hearings – Due Process Complaints https://www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/dgs/fmc/dgs/oah038.pdf California Department of Education – Compliance Complaints http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/qa/cmplntproc.asp California Department of Education – Mental Health Services F.A.Q. http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/ac/mhsfaq.asp

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Poll: Do you now have a better understanding of

mental health services for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities?

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