Key Note Presentation: Practical Use of Implementation Science to Meet Your Community’s Positive Behavior Support Goals

What strategies and practices are needed to ensure effective use of positive behavior supports? How do we ensure these strategies and practices are relevant and feasible for our different contexts (e.g., rural, urban, clinic, community) and fields (e.g., early childhood, K-12 education, adult education and services) in Minnesota? The keynote session will share how active implementation practices and strategies can be used to answer these questions through the use of case examples, freely available resources and their respective data stories.

IMPLEMENTING PBS IN FACILITIES AND SERVICES THAT SUPPORT INDIVIDUALS WITH COMPLEX MENTAL HEALTH AND OTHER NEEDS: ISSUES AND EXAMPLES

Individuals who need intensive mental health and other supports sometimes receive those services in settings other than their homes and communities, for instance in psychiatric, residential, treatment, or correctional facilities. The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and other agencies are working to increase the use of PBS in such situations for individuals across the lifespan, and particularly for youth under 21. This session will describe the activities that DHS is pursuing in exploration and instillation stages to implement the use of PBS. Information about the contributions of PBS in child foster care through the Minnesota Intensive Therapeutic Homes program and the implementation of PBIS at Walter Maginnis High School at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Red Wing will provide examples.

Mary Paulson, Behavioral Health Division, Minnesota Department of Human Services; Icha (Nyimas) Arief, Community Based Services, Minnesota Department of Human Services; Jeremy Mork, Community Based Services, Minnesota Department of Human Services; Adam Cavanaugh, Walter Maginnis High School, Minnesota Department of Corrections; Barbara Christenson, Walter Maginnis High School, Minnesota Department of Corrections

ALIGNING PERSON-CENTERED THINKING AND POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORTS IN COLLABORATIVE PLANNING AND SERVICE PROCESSES

Person-centered approaches enhance PBS frameworks across the lifespan and service domains as they place the individuals served and their families at the center of collaborative planning and service delivery. This session highlights the complementary relationship of person-centered thinking and PBS and the implementation benefits that arise for individuals of all ages when they are used together. Examples include: (a) a collaborative person-center planning project in a school and (b) the Inter-agency Coordinated Individual Education Program Pilot Project developed by the Minnesota Departments of Education (MDE), Human Services (DHS), Health (MDH), and Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

Sue Benolken, Special Education Division, Minnesota Department of Education; Wendy Berghorst, Children & Youth with Special Health Needs, Minnesota Department of Health; Nichole Meyer, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota

POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORTS AND SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, AND BEHAVIORAL WELLNESS: OPPORTUNITIES AND SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES

Positive behavior support can align efforts in education, mental health, social services, health, and other areas to increase wellness in its many forms for individuals across the lifespan, families, schools, and communities. The panel will discuss emerging opportunities, challenges, and shared responsibilities from current collaborative efforts in Minnesota that are pursuing such common goals. Examples from multiple levels will include: (a) statewide efforts across government agencies to create systems capacity to implement positive practices and supports, (b) the statewide School-Linked Mental Health services supported by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, and (c) the extensive, multifaceted initiatives pursued in the P-12 education system by the Greenway Public Schools.

Eric Kloos, Special Education Division, Minnesota Department of Education; Kris Lofgren, Behavioral Health Division, Minnesota Department of Human Services; Sue Hoeft, Vandyke Elementary School, Greenway Public Schools; Jeff Britten, Greenway High School, Greenway Public Schools

FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF TIER 2 AND 3 INTERVENTIONS IN A PBS FRAMEWORK: A HIGH SCHOOL’S JOURNEY

Effective interventions for Tiers 2 and 3 are essential for the full implementation of a PBS framework, but they can be challenging to establish well and apply with fidelity. In order to improve the graduation rates for Black and American Indian students with disabilities, Denfeld High School in the Duluth Public Schools chose to implement the Tier 2-3 evidence-based intervention, Check & Connect, a mentoring program designed to increase student engagement with school and decrease dropout rates. The session will weave descriptions of the core components of the intervention with the story of how the implementation team moved through the exploration, installation, and initial implementation stages towards full implementation of Check & Connect and achievement of the desired outcomes.

Eileen Klemm, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota; Sarah Laulenen, Denfeld High School, Duluth Public Schools