ABSTRACT
Behavioral and mental health services are becoming a necessary function of school systems. Consequences for social-emotional and behavioral issues can be very punitive and applied inequitably in schools. Severe punishment of children from communities experiencing economic disadvantages, negative cultural bias, and a high risk of incarceration further exacerbates the poverty cycle and school-to-prison pipeline, and violates social justice principles. Students are at-risk for adverse childhood experiences (ACES), which require trauma-informed care. Research supports implementation of evidence-based universal, targeted, and intensive social-emotional-behavioral (SEB) instruction under a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS). A Behavioral and Mental Health MTSS team is comprised of highly trained individuals tasked with school safety, student behavioral health, and emotional well-being of students in a school and community setting. The who, what, why, when, and how are described, as roles and responsibilities of administrators, school counselors, school psychologists, school nurses, school social workers, and specialist are outlined. The Behavioral and Mental Health MTSS database is discussed and structures, functions, master calendar, the team meeting schedule, and meeting responsibilities are described. Red flags for educators to identify students on a path to attack are emphasized and the LIQUID Model is reviewed to support SEB MTSS.
