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1.  If your child is exhibiting new behavioral problems that are interfering with their ability to access the curriculum; your school may need to implement a Behavior Support Plan to extinguish the negative or off task behavior. 2.  If your child is struggling academically in the first semester, don’t wait until second semester to address the problem.  If you have to request new assessments; keep in mind the timeline from the day you authorized the assessments.  The school has 60 days* in which to conduct the assessments and hold an IEP, so if you wait until second semester, the school year might be coming to an end; basically, your child has lost the entire year.  * Some States have different timelines so please check the timelines in your State. 3.  If your child will be attending Kindergarten, Middle School or High School the following year; you need to know all the areas of strengths and weaknesses to help them transition into the next phase of their education. 4.  If your child has been bullied in school, you need to make sure there is a safety plan implemented to protect your child from harm.  In addition, your child should know the name of the school personnel they can approach if the situation arises again; providing a safe place in the school environment. 5.  If your child’s placement is no longer working, do not wait to address this problem; otherwise, your child may lose an entire year of academics. 6.  If your child has been suspended repeatedly for behavioral problems, do not wait until the school is about to expel your child from the district.  Call an IEP to discuss changes in the Behavior Support Plan or ask for additional assessments immediately such as a Functional Behavior Assessment. 7.  If your child has been assigned an Aide that is not experienced enough to prevent your child from eloping, you need to call an IEP as soon as possible to request a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) or additionally training for the Aide.  Remember, every time your child leaves the classroom they are not being educated! 8.  If your child is experiencing depression, lack of self-worth, anxiety…etc.  You should call an IEP and request a Social/Emotional Assessment for in-school counseling.  If your child already has in-school counseling and that’s not working then you need to request an Educationally Related Mental Health Assessment to address these issues before they escalate into more serious behavior. 9.  If the services you agreed to at your child’s last IEP meeting are not working, you need to call an IEP to ask your school to increase the amount of services, or file for Due Process if you feel it’s necessary to take the matter directly to the school district. 10. If the School has not been following your child’s IEP; therefore, is out of compliance, call an IEP right away to allow the school to remedy the situation.  If they are not willing to rectify the situation then you need to either file for Due Process or file a complaint with the State Department of Education.

Click here to register!What:The focus of this year's conference is to explore school mental health work within a 3-tiered context; we will take a strategic look at how our work can be understood as a multi-tiered system of support.  We will examine how existing support structures such as High-Fidelity Wraparound, Montana Behavioral Initiative (MBI), Montana School Counseling Program, and Comprehensive School and Community Treatment, framed within the three tiers, could provide a continuum of academic and positive behavior supports.  Nationally recognized speakers Dr. Lucille Eber and Dr. John VanDenBerg will share their expertise.If you are interested in sharing your good work at the state conference, please apply to present!  Three 75-minute presentations will be selected and showcased during the second day of the conference.  We are looking for presentations that address the mental health needs of students within the 3-tiers and/or focuses on meeting student need within one specific tier.Click here if you are interested in presenting!Whether you can attend the conference or not, we ask you to contribute to this work by taking this brief survey about the provision of mental health services in your school.  This survey has been given each year and we use the data to inform statewide planning concerning school mental health.  Your perspective is critical, so please take this survey and pass it on to others in your school community who may offer additional insights.  Thank you for taking this survey today. Click here to take the survey!When:March 1-2, 2012Where:Red Lion Colonial Hotel Helena, MTContact:Susan Bailey-AndersonPhone: 406-444-2046Email: sbanderson@mt.govWebsite: www.opi.mt.gov

A new government publication aims to help schools enlist parents in promoting and sustaining health in their children.

Published by the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH), Parent Engagement: Strategies for Involving Parents in School Health covers how schools can connect with parents about health education for children, engage parents in the subject matter, and ultimately sustain ongoing interest in the mission.

This knowledge path about child and adolescent health insurance and access to care has been compiled by the Maternal and Child Health Library at Georgetown University. It offers a selection of current, high-quality resources that analyze data, describe effective programs, and report on policy and research aimed at advancing health coverage and improving health care access for children and adolescents. Emphasis is placed on Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Separate sections present resources for professionals (health professionals, program administrators, policymakers, and researchers) and for families. A special topics section presents resources that address health reform, outreach and enrollment, and school-based and school-linked care. This knowledge path will be updated periodically.

Online registration coming soon! What and When:Please Save the Date for the Children Come First Conference and Youth Mental Health Summit in Milwaukee on May 3rd and 4th. See the details below and attached!  You won't want to miss this exciting event and the opportunity for developing action plans to improve youth mental health in Wisconsin!May 3rd:A Day Spent with Dr. Ross Greene, Associate Professor at Harvard University and acclaimed author of The Explosive Child and Lost At School. The day's conversation: Change Starts with Youth. For youth (ages 14-24) led by youth. May 4th (8:00 am - 12:00 pm):From Input to Action, adults and youth ages 14-24 join together to design action plans to improve youth mental health in Wisconsin. Sponsored by Wisconsin Family Ties, Youth Mental Health Connections, Milwaukee Mental Health Task Force.Where:American Serb Hall5101 W. Oklahoma Ave. Milwaukee, WI  Contact:Wisconsin Family TiesPhone: (608) 267-6888 or 800-422-7145 (parents only please)Fax: (608) 267-6801E-mail:  info@wifamilyties.org

Sue Buswell is one of nine registered nurses who work for the Helena School District and was recently named the Montana School Nurse of the Year by the Montana Association of School Nurses.

Buswell describes her job as a provider of seamless transitions for students with acute and chronic health conditions into the school setting. She coordinates a team approach that includes family, school personnel, health care providers and the community.

Register here!What:Got Transition recognizes that health care transition often begins at home with preparation and planning- but where else do young people spend most of their time?  School!  Tune into this first episode of a series related to how healthcare transition might be addressed in the school setting.  In this episode, Eileen and Mallory will discuss the Individual Education Plan (IEP) process as a key element in transition, keeping it student centered, and real ways to incorporate goals related to health!When:Wednesday, February 22, 20121:00 PM - 1:30 PM MDTContact:Got Transition?Phone: 603-228-8811

The 2nd Annual Integrated School Mental Health Initiative (ISMHI) conference will be held in Helena at the Best Western Great Northern Hotel, March 3-4, 2011. This conference is a collaboration between The Office of Public Instruction, The Department of Public Health and Human Services and the Community of Practice (stakeholders statewide).

There’s a group of students struggling through school rd to navigate that gets little attention in the media or in the debate about how to fix schools: Children with ADHD. ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a brain condition that makes it especially hard for children to focus and concentrate in school and has a number of other symptoms. It is too often misunderstood by teachers, parents and even the students themselves. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 9.5% or 5.4 million children 4-17 years of age, had been diagnosed with ADHD, as of 2007. Many others who have the disorder haven’t had the benefit of a diagnosis. Here is a powerful post by David Bernstein, a nonprofit executive who lives in Gaithersburg, Md., writing about the difficulties that his two sons, ages 7 and 15, have confronted in school as a result of ADHD.

Missoula County Public Schools is the only district in Montana to receive a nearly $400,000 grant for counseling and mental-health programs in its schools. The grant was announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education as part of a $15.2 million nationwide outlay to school districts in 19 states.