Ohio’s Whole Child Framework and Initiatives
With Data Insights on Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) and Utilization of Restraint and Seclusion
The Ohio Department of Education is committed to providing safe and supportive schools to all students through the implementation of whole child supports. Research demonstrates that students do better academically, socially and behaviorally when supports are provided for the whole child within a school setting. A compelling amount of research indicates the use of restraint and seclusion in schools negatively impacts a student’s optimal learning. For that reason, the Department’s efforts to support the whole child include a focus on eliminating the use of restraint and seclusion.
This report is organized in two parts:
Part 1: Ohio’s Whole Child Framework
The Whole Child Framework is a blueprint schools can use to meet the mental, behavioral and physical health, wellness, nutrition and safety needs of Ohio students. A whole child approach broadens district and school focus beyond academics to include the many factors in a child’s life that impact the educational experience. The Whole Child Framework provides a guide to meet these whole child needs, which are foundational to a child’s intellectual and social development and necessary for students to fully engage in learning.
The five tenets of Ohio’s Whole Child Framework reflect desired student conditions that lead to success in life and learning. These tenets recognize that students’ basic physiological and psychological needs must be met before they can fully engage in complex learning and social activities. When students are healthy, feel safe, are supported through strong systems and relationships, are challenged and experience success and are engaged in learning that is relevant and meaningful, they are more likely to enjoy learning, develop positive social skills and achieve greater success.
The Office of Whole Child Supports coordinates and leads the Department’s efforts to develop the policies, programs, guidance and resources that support the implementation of Ohio’s Whole Child Framework. Each of the initiatives and resources below represents a critical piece of the collaborative approach to learning and wellness within Ohio’s Whole Child Framework.
The Office convenes the Whole Child Advisory Group to provide guidance on implementation of essential activities for meeting the needs of the whole child. The advisory group, with representatives across multiple sectors, helps establish best practices and develop and identify resources to support meeting the needs of Ohio students.
The Department launched Ohio’s Whole Child Network in January 2022. The network serves as a platform for districts, schools, community partners and families to learn from each other, share successes and best practices and support each other in ensuring each child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported and challenged. Network participants include district and school administrators, teachers and paraprofessionals, school support staff, families and caregivers. The Office hosts monthly webinars for network members and has fostered a community of practice for professionals. In September 2022, the network hosted a webinar focused on the Whole Child Framework’s safety tenet and showcased Marysville Exempted Village School District as an exemplar of comprehensive school safety.
In fall 2022, the Office launched the Ohio Whole Child Podcast and the Whole Child Newsletter. The quarterly podcast and newsletter are developed in collaboration with the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. October’s podcast, Fostering Physical and Emotional Safety in Schools, featured guests from Ohio’s School Safety Center and the Office of Prevention at the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. The Fall Edition of Ohio Whole Child News highlighted the tenet of safety from Ohio’s Whole Child Framework.
The Ohio Association of Student Leaders and the Ohio Department of Education hosted five student-led roundtable discussions on Ohio's Whole Child Framework throughout the 2021-2022 school year. Student voice is critical to implementing effective whole child supports. Students in grades 6 through 12 participated in roundtable discussions to share how schools are helping them to be healthy, safe, engaged, supported and challenged, as well as what additional supports are needed and how participants can take information back to their schools.
Safe and Supportive School Environments
Students thrive and learn best in safe and supportive learning environments. The components of a safe and supportive learning environment include creating a positive school climate and culture, addressing students’ emotional and physical safety and ensuring the school’s physical environment and grounds are safe. Promoting and supporting staff wellness and self-care is also an important component to help ensure students’ academic success and overall well-being.
In 2021, Ohio's 133rd General Assembly enacted House Bill 123, the "Safety and Violence Education Students (SAVE Students) Act," implementing education and training for school security and youth suicide awareness. The state legislation calls for a comprehensive approach to school safety involving the departments of Education, Public Safety and Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Attorney General’s Office.
Schools, families and communities must work together and take a comprehensive approach to school safety. This includes meeting the physical and emotional safety of both students and educators. When implemented together, prevention education, peer-led clubs, emergency management plans and threat assessments can create safe, caring learning environments for all students. The Department of Education, the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services maintain a list of approved suicide awareness and prevention, violence prevention and social inclusion programs that meet the criteria specified in the legislation and on the Safety and Violence Education Students (SAVE Students) Act webpage.
Ohio Law requires schools to create threat assessment teams for each building serving students grades 6 through 12. Ohio offered free, evidence-based school violence prevention trainings to school personnel statewide using Bureau of Justice Assistance grant funding allocated through the STOP School Violence Act through the 2021-2022 school year. Sandy Hook Promise’s Safety Assessment and Intervention program was offered and included day‑long workshops that covered the theory of threat assessment and practical applications for district threat assessment teams.
Trauma Informed Schools
A trauma informed school is one in which all students and staff feel safe, welcomed and supported, and where the impact of trauma on teaching and learning is addressed at the center of the educational mission. The Department recognizes the impact trauma can have in the lives of students and has developed a Trauma Informed Schools webpage with information and resources to support schools in planning and implementing trauma informed approaches. The Department also facilitates a Trauma Informed Schools Committee, a collaboration with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, community mental health agencies, hospitals and local education agencies. The group convenes monthly to discuss implementation strategies, challenges and current research surrounding trauma informed practices and schools in Ohio.
The Department supported the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Service’s Trauma Informed Care Summit in May 2022. The Department provided funding through its federal School Climate Transformation Grant to support this event and promoted it through the weekly education newsletter to Ohio districts and schools. More than 1,500 educators, mental health professionals, health providers and community members were registered for the summit. Department leaders provided prerecorded remarks about the importance of utilizing trauma informed practices in education to build resiliency in students.
Mental and Behavioral Health Supports
The Department provides professional development, technical assistance and resources to support schools in developing comprehensive mental health systems. Effective mental health systems provide a continuum of supports and services addressing mental health promotion, early intervention and treatment. The Department collaborates with the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services on several initiatives focused on efforts between schools and community partners to create safe and supportive schools and improve the mental and behavioral health of students, families and school staff. Through this partnership, statewide resources and trainings are available to school staff, families and community partners. Several initiatives have been developed and supported through this collaboration, including mental and behavioral health supports developed to student and district needs following the pandemic.
- ABCs of Mental Health: This is a resource for educators who may be feeling the weight of new expectations along with heightened health and safety concerns. Developed by Ohio’s leading suicide prevention experts with teachers, administrators and school staff specifically in mind, the ABCs of Mental Health guides school staff to: Ask yourself how you are feeling; Be aware of signs and symptoms of mental health challenges; and Care for yourself and others.
- Youth & Adults Mental Health and Wellness Outreach | Ohio Department of Education: This webpage offers resources that can help both children and adults to cope, heal, strengthen and grow, providing access to resources and tools needed to support an appropriate awareness campaign. Each initiative has a built-in education and stigma-reduction component aimed at changing attitudes and strengthening supports for those in need. The toolkits include downloadable educational resources, including videos, for parents and educators.
- Supporting School Wellness Toolkit: In response to listening sessions held with educators, school administrators, community organizations, behavioral health providers and other stakeholders, the departments of Education, Mental Health and Addiction Services and Public Safety created a toolkit with strategies and resources to promote wellness in schools. The toolkit includes strategies and resources to assist teachers, school administrators, district administrators, students and families and communities address mental and behavioral health concerns which have increased due to the pandemic.
- School-based Mental Health Professionals Initiative: Funded through the U.S. Department of Education, this initiative brings together local educational service centers, universities’ community mental health providers and districts to plan and implement recruitment and retainment strategies to increase the number of school-based mental health professionals providing mental health services to students and families in seven of Ohio’s Appalachian counties (Belmont, Guernsey, Harrison, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble and Tuscarawas).
- School-Based Telehealth Services in Rural Ohio Project: The collaborative project is an initiative to address the lack of high-speed internet by improving broadband connectivity and presenting additional ways for students to utilize telehealth to access behavioral health and other critical school-based health services in Switzerland of Ohio and Muskingum Valley schools. The project team consists of state representatives from the Ohio departments of Education, Medicaid, Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Governor’s Office along with local representatives from Switzerland of Ohio Local School District and Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center.
- Ohio School Wellness Initiative: The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and Miami University’s Center for School-Based Mental Health Programs are working to support districts and schools in increasing substance use and mental health supports and services for students through capacity development, connection to community partners and services and implementation of the full continuum of care including prevention, early intervention and treatment practice for K-12 students throughout Ohio.
- Adolescent and Young Adult Behavioral Health Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network: The Adolescent and Young Adult Behavioral Health Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network is a new collaborative with members from the Ohio departments of Education, Health and Mental Health and Addiction Services and Nationwide Children’s Hospital to focus on quality improvement efforts related to health and mental health in schools. The team works with schools and community partners to focus on state and systems-level work related to collecting and making data-driven decisions to improve mental wellness.
Prevention Education Efforts
The purpose of prevention-focused programs, services and supports is to help students develop knowledge and skills to engage in healthy behaviors and decision-making, to increase their awareness of the dangers and consequences of risky behaviors and to prevent substance use, suicide and bullying.
Prevention-focused programs, services and supports can be integrated into efforts already practiced by schools. This can be done through schoolwide expectations, prevention-focused curriculum or after-school activities. Like PBIS, prevention education is a multi-tiered approach to supporting students.
- Tier 1 strategies, also known as universal prevention, are offered to all students and focus on developing knowledge and skills to engage in healthy behaviors and decision-‑making.
- Tier 2 and Tier 3 strategies, known as selective and indicated prevention, are implemented as needed to support students with increased risk factors.
When prevention services are provided through the PBIS framework, staff and students create a safe and supportive learning environment, students are more likely to engage in learning and each student receives the supports they need to gain skills for success in school and life.
Ohio law requires that each school in the state report the types of prevention-focused programs, services and supports used to assist students in developing the knowledge and skills to engage in healthy behaviors and decision-making and to increase their awareness of the dangers and consequences of risky behaviors, including substance use, suicide, bullying and other harmful behaviors. The 2019-2020 Prevention Services Data Report and 2020 – 2021 Prevention Services Data Report provide overviews of the prevention-focused services used throughout the state.
Through continued collaboration between the departments of Education and Mental Health and Addiction Services, additional resources, supports and opportunities will continue to be made available to expand prevention education for students throughout Ohio.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
Ohio rule requires that districts implement Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) on a system-wide basis and adds requirements for districts to provide professional development on PBIS for school personnel. Supported by legislative mandates, the Department is committed to continue building statewide capacity to implement PBIS.
PBIS is a multi-tiered system of supports that utilizes instructional practices to teach students what behaviors are expected in the various school settings throughout the school day. A well‑implemented PBIS framework provides instructional supports to all students, additional small-group interventions for some students and, when needed, individual behavioral planning for a few students. PBIS involves all school staff and requires consistency among adults. When properly implemented, PBIS has been shown to reduce discipline incidents and improve school climate.
The Ohio PBIS Network supports Ohio’s PBIS scaling up efforts and includes approximately 50 members from Ohio’s state support teams, educational service centers, other state agencies and other PBIS collaborators like OCALI and Miami University. The Network is responsible for developing Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 trainings. In the 2021-2022 school year, the Network developed Tier 3 training modules and trained Ohio’s regional trainers who provided the modules for schools and districts across the state. This training builds on the systems, teaming and structures provided at Tiers 1 and 2 and helps support the implementation of individualized and intensive student supports.
Building State, Regional and Local Capacity for PBIS
Through the U.S. Department of Education’s School Climate Transformation Grant, the Department and regional designees are working to build Ohio’s PBIS training and coaching capacity. This grant operates through September 2023 and focuses on increasing the number of PBIS master trainers within the State Support Teams and Educational Service Centers, improving coordination of resources, incorporating opioid abuse prevention and mitigation strategies (including trauma informed practices) and integrating culturally responsive practices into the PBIS framework.
Ohio’s School Climate Transformation Grant supported the creation of new PBIS video resources created with the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence. The following videos are available on the Department’s learning management system to support PBIS training.
- The Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI) video which leverages the State Support Team PBIS consultants’ work, PBIS Apps, the Self-Assessment Survey, virtual TFIs for school districts during the pandemic, interviews and a model of the TFI walkthrough;
- The Data Collection and Analysis video which identifies trends and root causes, data interpretation, how to disaggregate data and consider the impact of race, ethnicity and disability, and how to determine what interventions to apply; and
- The Expanding PBIS to Address the Needs of the Whole Child video which explores how PBIS, as a framework, can align with other initiatives that support the whole child, such as social and emotional learning, trauma informed practices, health behaviors and decision making. Community partnerships are also featured in this video.
The Department also supports local capacity by hosting an annual Ohio PBIS Showcase that provides an opportunity for attendees to acquire firsthand knowledge on PBIS implementation. Schools that implement PBIS with a high degree of consistency and fidelity are eligible to be recognized as a PBIS award school or district (at gold, silver or bronze levels). In 2022, 375 schools and districts received recognition. The Showcase features award-winning and high-quality PBIS school programs sharing their knowledge, experiences and resources in implementing and scaling-up their PBIS efforts, including training on PBIS coaching strategies.
Part 2: Data insights on Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) and Restraint and Seclusion in Schools
Ohio rule for the Implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention Supports and the Use of Restraint and Seclusion went into effect at the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year and was revised in June 2021. The purpose of the rule is to ensure Ohio school districts establish consistent policies and procedures for the use of PBIS and restraint and seclusion. The intent is to create safe environments for students and staff and reduce the need for emergency physical restraint and seclusion through behavior supports and training.
The following information highlights state-level data points related to the implementation of PBIS and the use of restraint and seclusion in schools. PBIS implementation is reported through the Education Management Information System (EMIS). Restraint and seclusion incidents are reported through the annual Restraint and Seclusion Survey. The Restraint and Seclusion Survey is provided to Ohio districts and schools that serve students in grades K-12, and analyses include all responding districts unless otherwise noted. To ensure accurate reporting, the Department collects data about the implementation of PBIS and incidents of restraint and seclusion at the school-building level. Data collected from individual school buildings enable the Department to provide targeted support and technical assistance in the following ways:
- Ensure all districts have adopted a policy for the implementation of PBIS and the use of restraint and seclusion.
- Develop statewide resources and tools to support districts and schools with PBIS implementation and restraint and seclusion reduction efforts.
- Provide targeted training and coaching through State Support Teams and Educational Service Centers.
As is best practice in continuous quality improvement science, the Department encourages schools and districts to constantly consider effective ways to collect, analyze and use their data to set goals and drive improvement.
District Response Rate
The 2021-2022 restraint and seclusion survey collected responses from over 98% of the 1,028 schools and districts. The issuance of the data collection in the summer continues to demonstrate an increase in the response rate from all school types (public districts, community schools, STEM schools, state supported schools and educational service centers).
Policies in Place
Ohio rule requires school districts to have written policies and procedures concerning the use of PBIS and restraint and seclusion that are consistent with the rule. Of the 1,028 responding schools and districts, 1000 reported having updated PBIS and restraint and seclusion policies that align with the 2021 rule revisions.
Planning and Implementation of PBIS
PBIS is a multi-tiered, schoolwide, behavioral framework developed and implemented for the purpose of improving academic and social outcomes and supporting learning for all students (O.R.C. 3319.46).
PBIS training for PBIS Leadership Teams is a multi-session, team-based process with follow‑up coaching support (PBIS Leadership Team means the assigned team at the district and building level that plans, coaches and monitors PBIS implementation in the district and building.). Properly implementing the PBIS Framework requires a multi-year commitment from a participating school. In addition to the PBIS training provided to the PBIS Leadership Teams, the revised rule establishes districts will provide student personnel professional development on the implementation of PBIS at least every three years (Student personnel means teacher, principal, counselor, social worker, school resource officer, teachers’ aide, psychologist, bus driver, related services providers, nursing staff or other school district staff who interact directly with students.). The PBIS Professional Development Guidance explains the requirements and provides helpful recommendations to assist districts in planning the professional development.
The National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports identifies five sequential phases building leadership teams go through to plan and implement PBIS with fidelity. Ohio school districts use these phases to self-report where the district and schools are with PBIS implementation. This process guides what additional training and coaching is needed to progress to the next phase of implementation. The phases are defined below:
- Work on implementing PBIS has not yet begun.
- Exploration and Adoption – Researching PBIS, exploring readiness and securing staff and administration agreement to implement PBIS.
- Installation – Creating the PBIS team, completing PBIS team training and establishing initial systems, data-decisions, policies and practices that will be required to implement PBIS.
- Initial Implementation – Rolling out and implementing PBIS schoolwide, with a focus on Tier I supports.
- Full Implementation – Implementing PBIS with all systemic components and a range of interventions, known as Tier 1, 2 and 3 supports.
- Innovation and Sustainability – Routinely checking fidelity and outcomes of implementation using national assessments and revising and updating practices and systems as needed.
Each stage has specific steps and associated actions. While the stages, steps and actions suggest a linear sequence of events, in actual implementation there often is a more dynamic flow to the work. Some stages or steps may be occurring simultaneously, and the work often circles back to revisit earlier stages. The data enable the Department to identify schools and districts that should be recognized or ones that could use additional resources or training.
Figure 1 demonstrates that a higher percentage of respondents have reached PBIS Full Implementation or the Innovation and Sustainability phase for the 2021-2022 school year compared to the previous school years. Over half (60.9%) of all responding districts and schools have now achieved full implementation. Fewer than 10% of reporting schools and districts have not reached at least initial implementation. In 2022-2023, districts must report Full Implementation or higher to receive a “yes” on the report card unless the school or district is new or has a new IRN. It is important to note that full implementation means all three-tiered structures are in place.
Figure 1. PBIS Stage Advancement from SY19-20 to SY21-22
Trauma-Informed Care Data Outcomes
Applying a trauma-informed lens, crisis intervention teams work to understand how trauma impacts behavior, strive to reduce trauma triggers that can escalate a crisis situation and make every effort to avoid retraumatizing students and staff. Trauma informed practices help students and staff regulate emotions, which contributes to de-escalation and the reduction of restraint and seclusion incidents.
As of the 2018-2019 school year, the Department uses the annual restraint and seclusion survey to identify the number of schools providing trauma informed care training. Trauma informed care training increased within school buildings from 77% in the 2020-2021 school year to 82% in the 2021-2022. The Department has multiple resources in place to assist districts and schools with implementing trauma informed care practices.
Reported Incidents of Restraint and Seclusion
Physical Restraint is defined as the use of physical contact in a way that immobilizes or reduces the ability of an individual to move the individual’s arms, legs, body or head freely. The term does not include a physical escort, mechanical restraint or chemical restraint. Additionally, physical restraint does not include brief physical contact to break up a fight, to knock a weapon out of a student’s possession, to calm or comfort a student, to assist a student in completing a task or response if the student does not resist the contact, or to prevent an imminent risk to a student or others.
Seclusion is defined as the involuntary isolation of a student in a room, enclosure or space from which the student is prevented from leaving by physical restraint or by a closed door or other physical barrier.
Crisis management, de-escalation techniques and less restrictive interventions should always be used to reduce the need to use restraint or seclusion.
For the 2021-2022 school year, less than 1% of the 1,739,386 students enrolled in Ohio’s schools were involved in an incident of restraint or seclusion. Additionally, 68% of Ohio’s 3,703 schools reported no incidents of restraint, and 86% reported no incidents of seclusion.
Themes of Restraint and Seclusion Data
- Decrease of Reported Incidents of Restraint and Seclusion: As noted in the 2020-2021 data, COVID-19 and the required school building closures resulted in a considerable decrease of incidents of restraint and seclusion for the 2020‑2021 school year. As anticipated, the full return to school buildings during the 2021-2022 school year resulted in a notable increase of incidents compared to the 2020‑2021 school year. However, the data still show an overall decrease of incidents of restraint and seclusion in 2021-2022, when compared to the 2019-2020 school year.
- Students with Disabilities Experience More Incidents of Restraint and Seclusion: Data continue to confirm that students identified as a child with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) experience more incidents of restraint and seclusion than their peers, despite representing a much smaller portion of total enrollment. Figure 2 provides a detailed look at these data. It is important to note the significant increase of nondisabled students experiencing restraint and seclusion compared to prior years.
- Students with the Disability Category of Emotional Disturbance Have More Occurrences of Restraint and Seclusion: Students identified with a disability in the category of Emotional Disturbance are restrained and secluded at higher rates than other disability categories. Students in this category represent only 5.1% of all students with disabilities, yet they represent 42% of the restraint incidents with students with disabilities. This is followed by students with Autism and Other Health Impairments. See Figure 3.
Figure 2. Use of Restraint and Seclusion
Figure 3. Incidents of Restraint and Seclusion per Disability Category 2021-22
- Reductions in Behavior Supports Following Incidents of Restraint and Seclusion
In comparison to the 2020-2021 school year, there is a decrease in the frequency of school teams creating or amending a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) or behavior intervention plan (BIP) following an incident of restraint or seclusion. However, the 2021-2022 data remains consistent with the numbers reported in the 2019-2020 school year. Figures 4 and 5 provide further details. The Department prioritizes school teams considering behavior interventions and supports following incidents of restraint and seclusion. Ohio rule requires that school teams meet following the third incident of restraint or seclusion in a school year. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss whether an FBA or BIP needs completed or amended. Eighty-six percent of buildings reported having a procedure in place prompting teams to hold a meeting following the third incident of restraint or seclusion.
Figure 4. Outcomes Following a Restraint
Figure 5. Outcomes Following a Seclusion
Restraint and Seclusion Resources
To support awareness and understanding of the restraint and seclusion requirements, the Department revised and developed the following resources:
Restraint and Seclusion Dispute Resolution
The Department encourages that disagreements regarding the use of restraint and seclusion be resolved as close to the school level as possible. Ohio rule requires school districts to have a complaint procedure allowing parents to file written complaints to the superintendent of the school district requesting an investigation of restraint and seclusion incidents by the district.
Parents may also choose to file a complaint with the Department. A key revision of the 2021 Ohio rule was the addition of a state-level complaint process for incidents of restraint and seclusion. The 2021-2022 school year was the first year for state-level restraint and seclusion complaints. During the first year, the Department received 15 complaints. Frequent allegations from most to least common included:
- Lack of notification and reporting regarding incidents of restraint and seclusion;
- Training and professional development concerns;
- Lack of district policies;
- Multiple incidents of restraint and seclusion without holding a team meeting; and
- Absence of monitoring procedures.
Corrective action frequently applied during the first year of complaints included:
- Completion of post-hoc restraint and seclusion incident reports (which are completed after the required twenty-four hour time period);
- Development or revision of restraint and seclusion policies;
- Revision of district restraint and seclusion reporting forms; and
- Professional development for staff including completion of the Restraint and Seclusion Video Modules.
Next Steps
The Department continues to prioritize its commitment to reduce the use of restraint and seclusion across the state. Guided by the data collected through the annual restraint and seclusion report, the Department will provide additional technical assistance, professional development and resources to support districts in creating safe and supportive school environments. The programs listed below will be implemented during the 2022-2023 school year.
Ohio’s Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG): Ohio’s educational service centers (ESCs) offer free training in the nationally recognized Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) model. All Ohio schools and districts are invited to participate in this threat assessment training to meet threat assessment team needs and fulfill the Safety and Violence Education Students (SAVE Students) Act threat assessment requirements. Training in the CSTAG model requires districts to create multi-disciplinary threat assessment teams consisting of district and school personnel from each school. The Department’s website provides more information on the CSTAG threat assessment training.
School-Based Center of Excellence for Prevention and Early Intervention: The newly established Center of Excellence is funded through a partnership between the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Miami University’s Center for School-Based Mental Health and the Department, utilizing American Rescue Plan funds. The Center acts as a hub for school administrators, teachers and community organizations to access evidence-based prevention and early intervention programs, Ohio School Wellness Student Assistance Plans and Staff Wellness resources, professional development and technical assistance and resources to support mental health evidence-based practices in schools.
Opioid Mitigation Strategies within the PBIS Framework: In 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency to address the expanding opioid epidemic. Opioid use has been on the rise in Ohio since 2019. The Department developed opioid mitigation strategies training as part of the School Climate and Transformation Grant. This training is designed around the Interconnected Systems Framework connecting Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports and School Mental Health. After receiving the training, districts and schools will determine the best opioid prevention strategy and trauma informed practice to suit the needs of their student population.
Last Modified: 5/17/2023 2:46:22 PM