Outline of the state of Indiana
State
Indiana
Encouraged or Required

Category
Early Identification and Referral

Category
Early Identification and Referral

State law encourages or requires districts to implement identification and referral processes to link students and families with needed resources.

Indiana Administrative Code 511 4-1.5-5 Student assistance services

Sec. 5. (a) School corporations shall provide student assistance services at the elementary and secondary school levels. (b) Student assistance services shall be coordinated by a:

  • (1) certified school counselor;
  • (2) certified school psychologist; or
  • (3) certified school social worker (master's level). (c) Student assistance services shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • (1) Prevention, which includes:
  • (A) assisting teachers and parents in delivering the health and social studies proficiencies of the school curricula;
  • (B) collaborating with community resources to develop summer and extended school programs to meet the social and recreational needs of students; and
  • (C) educating school staff and parents on the developmental needs and behavioral management of students.
  • (2) Assessment, which includes:
  • (A) educating school staff and parents to identify and refer students who are experiencing problems that interfere with student learning;
  • (B) obtaining and interpreting data on student needs; and
  • (C) implementing the school's policies and procedures with regard to identifying and referring students with their families who are in need of special services.
  • (3) Intervention, which includes:
  • (A) providing brief individual and group counseling to students and families who need help with personal concerns or developmental problems; and
  • (B) providing consultation services to school staff and parents regarding strategies for helping students cope with personal and social concerns.
  • (4) Referral, which includes:
  • (A) implementing policies and procedures for referring students and families to student assistance services and to community agencies for intensive counseling or other specialized services not available from the school;
  • (B) disseminating a directory of community services and resources; and
  • (C) creating a system to monitor referrals to ensure that students and families receive services in a timely and appropriate manner.
Policy Type
Regulation

Indiana Code 20-19-5-2 Recommendations

The children’s social, emotional, and behavioral health plan shall recommend: (1) procedures for the identification and assessment of social, emotional, and mental health issues; (2) procedures to assist a child and the child’s family in obtaining necessary services to treat social, emotional, and mental health issues; (3) procedures to coordinate provider services and interagency referral networks for an individual from birth through twenty-two (22) years of age; (4) guidelines for incorporating social, emotional, and behavioral development into school learning Standard and education programs; (5) that social, emotional, and mental health screening be included as a part of routine examinations in schools and by health care providers; (6) procedures concerning the positive development of children, including:

  • (A) social, emotional, and behavioral development;
  • (B) learning; and
  • (C) behavioral health; (7) plans for creating a children’s social, emotional, and behavioral health system with shared accountability among state agencies that will:
  • (A) conduct ongoing needs assessments;
  • (B) use outcome indicators and benchmarks to measure progress; and
  • (C) implement quality data tracking and reporting systems; (8) a state budget for children’s social, emotional, and mental health prevention and treatment; (9) how state agencies and local entities can obtain federal funding and other sources of funding to implement a children’s social, emotional, and behavioral health plan; (10) how to maintain and expand the workforce to provide mental health services for individuals from birth through twenty-two (22) years of age and families; (11) how employers of mental health professionals may:
  • (A) improve employee job satisfaction; and
  • (B) retain employees; (12) how to facilitate research on best practices and model programs for children’s social, emotional, and behavioral health; (13) how to disseminate research and provide training and educational materials concerning the children’s social, emotional, and behavioral health program to:
  • (A) policymakers;
  • (B) practitioners; and
  • (C) the general public; and (14) how to implement a public awareness campaign to:
  • (A) reduce the stigma of mental illness; and
  • (B) educate individuals:
  • (i) about the benefits of children’s social, emotional, and behavioral development; and
  • (ii) how to access children’s social, emotional, and behavioral development services.
Policy Type
Statute

Indiana Code 20-34-3-21 Memorandum of understanding between school corporation or charter school and community mental health center or provider; referrals; diagnosis

(b) Beginning after June 30, 2018, each school corporation, charter school, and accredited nonpublic school:

  • (1) shall require all teachers; and
  • (2) may require any other appropriate school employees; who are employed at schools that provide instruction to students in any combination of grade 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 to attend or participate in at least two (2) hours of evidence based inservice youth suicide awareness and prevention training every three (3) school years. The training required under this subsection must be during the teacher’s or school employee’s contracted day or at a time chosen by the teacher or employee. (c) Subject to subsection (e), the format of training required under this section may include:
  • (1) an in-person presentation;
  • (2) an electronic or technology based medium, including self-review modules available on an online system;
  • (3) an individual program of study of designated materials; or
  • (4) any other method approved by the governing body that is consistent with current professional development Standard. (d) The inservice training required under this section shall count toward the requirements for professional development required by the governing body. (e) The evidence based youth suicide awareness and preventiontraining required under subsection (b) must be approved, recommended, or listed as approved by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center or the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Policy Type
Statute

Indiana Code 20-34-9-2 Plan

As used in this chapter, “plan” refers to a student and parent support services plan described in section 6(2) [IC 20-34-9-6(2)] of this chapter.

Policy Type
Statute

Indiana Code 20-34-9-3 Program

As used in this chapter, “program” refers to the student and parent support services grant program established by section 5 [IC 20-34-9-5] of this chapter.

Policy Type
Statute

Indiana Code 20-34-9-4 Eligibility for grant

Beginning after June 30, 2020, and subject to available funding, a school corporation, a charter school, and an accredited nonpublic school are eligible for a grant under this chapter if the school corporation, charter school, or accredited nonpublic school meets the requirements of this chapter.

Policy Type
Statute

Indiana Code 20-34-9-5 Student and parent support services grant program; administration

(a) The student and parent support services grant program is established to provide grants to school corporations, charter schools, and state accredited nonpublic schools for the development and implementation of student and parent support services plans to support parents caring for at-risk students. (b) The department, in coordination with the division of mental health and addiction, shall administer the program.

Policy Type
Statute

Indiana Code 20-34-9-6 Participation in program — Requirements

A school corporation, a charter school, or a state accredited nonpublic school must do the following to participate in the program: (1) Apply to the department to participate in the program. (2) Submit to the department a student and parent support services plan that the school corporation, charter school, or state accredited nonpublic school intends to implement and that includes the following:

  • (A) A process for a teacher or school employee to notify a school official to contact a student’s parent if the student demonstrates a repeated pattern of aberrant or abnormal behavior. The parental notification process described in this clause must also include that the school will hold a conference with the student and the student’s parent.
  • (B) A requirement that the conference described in clause (A) must address the student’s potential need for and benefit from:
  • (i) school based treatment services; or
  • (ii) treatment services provided by an outside professional care provider that is contracted and paid for by the school corporation, charter school, or state accredited nonpublic school.
  • (C) A procedure for a parent who chooses to seek services for the student to follow that includes granting written parental consent for the student to receive services by a service provider described under clause (B).
  • (D) A requirement to ensure that a school shall maintain the confidentiality of any medical records that result from a student’s participation in any treatment described in clause (B). The school must adopt a policy that prohibits the school from:
  • (i) sharing any reports or notes resulting from the provision of school based treatment services described in clause (B)(i) with other school officials; and
  • (ii) maintaining any reports, notes, diagnosis, or appointments that result from a student’s participation in any treatment described in clause (B)(i) through (B)(ii) in the student’s permanent educational file.
Policy Type
Statute

Indiana Code 20-34-9-7 Annual Report

(a) Before June 30, 2020, and before each June 30 thereafter, the department shall evaluate and prepare a report concerning development and implementation of the following:

  • (1) The program.
  • (2) The plans submitted and implemented by school corporations, charter schools, and accredited nonpublic schools. (b) The department shall submit the report described in subsection (a) to the legislative council in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6.
Policy Type
Statute

Indiana Department of Education Universal Screening Toolkit

School-wide, comprehensive, universal screening programming for social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health issues is a practice that has become more prevalent and is now recommended by The National Association of School Psychologists

Policy Type
Non-codified