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SP 19-40c – Behavioral Intervention Teams

Colorado Community College System / System Procedure

SP 19-40c

EFFECTIVE: April 26, 2016

REFERENCE: Board Policy (BP) 19-40, Emergency and Safety Planning

APPROVED:

/ Nancy J. McCallin /
Nancy J. McCallin, Ph.D.
System President

Application

This procedure applies to the Community Colleges within the Colorado Community College System (CCCS).

Basis

CCCS Board Policy (BP) 19-40 states that providing a safe learning and working environment throughout the State System of Community Colleges is of paramount importance. The Colleges and the System Office shall take measures reasonably necessary to plan for emergencies and promote the safety of students, employees, facilities and property throughout the system.

Accordingly, each College shall establish a Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) dedicated to prevention, intervention, and response to behaviors of concern.

Definitions

  1. A Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) is a centralized, representative group, which meets regularly to support its target audience (students, employees, faculty, and staff) via an established protocol. The team receives reports of behaviors of concern (from co-workers, community members, friends, colleagues, students, etc.), gathers additional information as required, and participates in recommending appropriate mechanisms for support, intervention, warning/notification and response. The team tracks risk factors and trends in behavior, and provides feedback to constituents on larger issues of concern within the community.
  2. Behaviors of concern are incidents that are disruptive, concerning, and/or threatening, and indicate that individuals represent a potential risk to themselves or the campus community. Such incidents are necessarily subjective; however, as a guide to the types of behavior the BIT should review, and the factors to be considered, refer to the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association (NaBITA) 2009 Whitepaper, “Threat Assessment in the Campus Setting.” (Sokolow, Brett A., et. al.) https://nabita.org/docs/2009NABITAwhitepaper.pdf

Procedure

Each College must:

  1. Establish a Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) that will meet regularly to serve six basic functions:
    1. Gather information to assess reports of behaviors of concern;
    2. Assist faculty, students, and staff in identifying and reporting behaviors of concern;
    3. Connect individuals displaying behaviors of concern with appropriate campus and community resources;
    4. Recommend appropriate intervention strategies for individuals displaying behaviors of concern;
    5. Provide ongoing support to faculty and staff in working with individuals displaying behaviors of concern; and
    6. Monitor ongoing behavior of individuals who have displayed behaviors of concern.
  2. Identify core BIT membership, consisting of at least three individuals, to review case referrals, triage and assess behavior, evaluate risk levels, and discuss intervention plans. The core team shall be comprised of individuals who have been trained in the BIT process. The core team shall include, or shall have ready and confirmed access to, at least one campus security and/or law enforcement and one mental health professional from within the campus community and/or from external partners.
  3. Identify College and/or System Office staff members to serve in an ad hoc membership role as necessitated by individual cases. Ad hoc members shall be trained in the BIT process. Their participation is flexible and consultative in nature.
  4. Provide initial and ongoing training for the core and ad hoc members, and any external partners providing professional expertise, to become familiar with BIT process and stay current with national trends and best practices.
  5. Implement a validated assessment protocol to evaluate incidents and gauge the level of threat posed by individuals displaying behaviors of concern.
  6. Implement a process to objectively identify and respond to individuals whose continued presence on campus represents a threat to the institution’s educational mission and/or the emotional and physical health and safety of faculty, students, and staff.
  7. Develop and implement initiatives to assist faculty, staff, and students in identifying, responding to, and reporting individuals displaying behaviors of concern.
  8. Implement a database or other system to track reported cases and monitor individuals displaying behaviors of concern.

Revising this Procedure

CCCS reserves the right to change any provision or requirement of this procedure at any time and the change shall become effective immediately.