Intensive Supports
Mental Health Triage Team: Supporting Students with Intensive Needs
The goal of The Mental Health Triage Team is to engage in work that promotes racial equity & social justice, improve access to community resources, and to support staff in proactively responding to students with intensive needs.
With a cross section of staff from the Departments of Student Services, Staff and Student Support, and Clinical Coordinators, team members bring expertise in supporting students who have experienced trauma, present challenging behavior and/or mental health needs, are impacted by autism, or who may benefit from connecting to community resources.
Student services teams can submit a request for support that will be reviewed by the mental health triage team. There are a number of supports available, including: Intensive Support Team; Building Bridges; and UW Child and Adolescent partnership.
Intensive Support Team
IST Service Delivery
IST services are for school teams serving 4K-12th grade students whose needs exceed what school staff are able to currently address and who may benefit from additional consultation and problem-solving. The services vary depending on the specific needs of the school, staff and student. IST does not have a caseload cap and may ask schools to prioritize if multiple requests are entered.
The IST, in collaboration with the school team, will determine goals and next steps. These may include, but are not limited to:
- Brief Consultation: IST will complete a brief record review prior to one or two meetings to problem solve around specific behaviors or needs.
- Student-Specific Professional Development: Professional Development related to a specific student and their intensive needs. These trainings are often focused on the application of district-wide trainings to a unique student situation. Examples: Student specific Nonviolent Crisis Intervention problem-solving and practice, student specific trauma training, etc.
- Short Term Stabilization: Offered for up to 90 days to support team-identified goals and development of a school-based plan. School teams should expect regular meetings involving a team of multi-disciplinary school staff including an administrator. IST will complete a full record review, observe across school settings, provide written recommendations and offer ongoing problem solving/coaching in implementing interventions and strategies. Examples: enhancing FBA/BSP or Regulation Plans, support for adapting materials, creating participation plans
Additional Mental Health Triage Programs
Building Bridges is a short-term, intensive, crisis-stabilization mental health program offered to any student in elementary or middle school in MMSD. Building Bridges works closely with the family and school team to provide targeted support over a 90 day period.
MMSD and the University of Wisconsin Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department have partnered to provide two opportunities to MMSD students through evaluations and consultations that occur at school throughout the year.