Norris School District

Here is a quick annual summary of the SCIP process in the HS for 2007-2008.

The High School SCIP team included:

Rosy Hoge

Charlie Hutzler

Michelle Pearman

Judeen Price

Mary Schlieder

John Skretta

Five of the members are trained in the SCIP intervention process and in recognizing and responding to high-risk adolescent behaviors.

SCIP provides a confidential referral and intervention process that allows the school to share concerns with a student and his or her parents when a student’s grades, attendance, or social behaviors indicate the possible occurrence of high-risk behaviors.  While one might commonly think of SCIP as mostly addressing alcohol, tobacco, or other drug use concerns, SCIP is much more inclusive than this and also receives referrals for mental health concerns like cutting and eating disorders.  This year we made a renewed commitment at the HS level to utilizing the SCIP process.  We received almost 50 SCIP referrals this school year; the vast majority of these (by about a 10:1 ratio) were staff referrals.  The remainder came from peers or were requested by a parent concerned about his or her child. 

One-sixth of the students referred showed sustained improvement in attendance or grades following their referral.  Most did not show a marked change in attendance or grades; however, attendance and grades were seldom the exclusive or primary means for referring a student to SCIP (see below). 

Two-thirds of all referrals were on underclassmen – freshmen and sophomores. 

About two-thirds of all students referred were male.

Referrals were fairly evenly distributed across fall and spring semesters.

About 60% of the time, the school offered the student and family an evaluation at a SCIP-approved agency as part of the school intervention / response to the referral.  SCIP is an elective process and it is always the parent’s choice whether they take advantage of this service. 

One-third of the students who were referred to SCIP were already receiving outside services.  This would include students who were on probation, undergoing court-ordered intensive outpatient therapy, or were already in counseling for mental health or substance abuse issues.  Oftentimes, this meant that the SCIP referral simply allowed us to have a conversation with a parent noting that we were recognizing the same concerns they were already working to address.  In several cases, this also put us in touch with a court-appointed official (whether a P.O. or a care provider) that enhanced our ability to work effectively with this individual student.

 A couple additional charts are posted below with some supplemental information you may find of note.

About two-thirds of the students referred did not have any pending school disciplinary action as part of their referral.  This is indicative of the fact that the SCIP process allows us to address a subpopulation of students that may not be in any disciplinary trouble but still need help and some form of action from the school to assist them.

For about a third of the students referred, a disciplinary action such as tobacco possession warranted the initial SCIP referral and school intervention.

INDICATED REASONS FOR INITIAL SCIP REFERRAL

This chart clearly portrays that a concern about ATOD – alcohol, tobacco or other drugs –  is by no means the only reason to refer a student to SCIP.  In fact, the SCIP team worked about a dozen referrals this year where mental health concerns were the primary reason the student was referred.  Most of the cooperating agencies that work with SCIP provide mental health evaluations in addition to offering the services of licensed drug and alcohol counseling.

Parents, if you have a concern about your son or daughter and possible high-risk behaviors, please contact the school to inquire about the SCIP process.  Any member of the committee would be glad to assist you in gathering information or referring you to a service provider.