Letter Going Home to 7th Grade Students
This letter is in reference the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) protocol, which all Massachusetts schools are mandated to do.
I have attached the letter here from Ms. Karen Bertram, our NMS Nurse.
January
26, 2018
Dear
Grade 7 Families:
This
school year all Massachusetts school districts are required to include a
substance use preventive screening as part of their annual mandated universal
health-screening program. Our district will use the Screening, Brief
Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) protocol with students in grade
7 at NMS (and at Grade 9 at MHS). The SBIRT protocol facilitates a one-on-one
conversation between each student and a school nurse or counselor in an effort
to prevent or at least delay the start of using harmful substances, such as
alcohol and marijuana. This program focuses on reinforcing healthy decisions
and addressing concerning behaviors around substance use with the goal of
improving health, safety and success in school. This is the second reminder
that we will be conducting this screen on the 7th grade students at
the Nichols Middle School. The screens will be completed during the month of
February.
We
will use the CRAFFT II screening interview, which is the most commonly used
substance use screening tool for adolescents in Massachusetts. All screenings
will be conducted in a confidential setting in private one-on-one sessions with
one of the nurses or counselors trained in SBIRT screening. Students who are
not using substances will have their healthy choices reinforced. The screener
will provide brief feedback to any student who reports using substances, or is
determined to be at risk for future substance use. What your child tells the
screener is confidential, and will not be shared with any other person without
prior written consent of the student, parent or guardian, except in cases of
immediate medical emergency or when disclosure is otherwise required by state
law. No written record of the results of this verbal screening is kept with
information that identifies any individual student. Screening results will
not be included in your child’s school record.
The
student’s parent or guardian may opt-out of the screening by written
notification any time prior to or during the screening. Students may also
opt-out at the time of the screening.
Please feel free to contact us should you have any questions or would
like your child to opt-out of the screening. You may have already “opted-out”
and this is already recorded. This is an additional opportunity to decline the
screen, if you choose to do so.
Together,
schools and parents CAN make a difference for the youth in our community. One
way to prevent youth substance use is to talk with your child about your
thoughts and expectations regarding substance use. You can view the CRAFFT tool and other SBIRT
resources on www.masbirt.org/schools website.
Thank
you,
Karen
Bertram
School
Nurse
“...to foster a culture of excellence
within every student, in every classroom every day.”
