B-HARP Innovation Project (2019-2023)

Behavioral Health Assessment and Response Project (B-HARP)

Dr. Holifield recently celebrated a successful conclusion to B-HARP as Project Director and Threat Management Coordinator project. The 4-year grant project focused on integrating threat assessment, threat management, and threat monitoring among community institutions (education, law enforcement, and behavioral health). The final goal was to examine community-based monitoring, provided ongoing training to community partners, and develop intervention approaches for individuals who have made threatening gestures. Holifield Psychological Services, Inc. received funding to complete B-HARP via the Innovation component of the Mental Health Services Act of California (Proposition 63).

Project Model

Salem-Keizer/Cascade School Threat Assessment Model and LA START

LEVEL 1-SITE-BASED TEAMS

Community Partners worked with a site-based threat assessment protocol and explore options for support within their system. Members from education, law enforcement, and mental health communities associated with the Level 1 site were provided training that equipped them with the necessary skills to conduct threat assessments at their site. Professionals at the site have the greatest knowledge of their students and the makeup of their site and are provided with protocols and systems specifically molded to their site.

LEVEL 2-COMMUNITY-BASED TEAM

Community Partners provided staff to be trained in more advanced applications of threat assessment and threat management (Level 2). They received referrals to assist Level 1 Teams on more complex issues. These Community Partners received advanced training that allowed them to address more serious and complex situations that the Level 1 Team may have required additional consultation and support. The purpose was to support school site teams, provided feedback, and assist schools in leveraging community resources.

Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health-School Threat Assessment Response Team (START)

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health School Threat Assessment and Response Team

(START) was designed to provide training, assessment, early Screening and Identification, assessment, Intervention

and case Management and monitoring. The B-HARP project through the San Luis Obispo County MHSA, provided basic and advanced threat assessment and management training to multiple behavioral health providers within the County Behavioral Health Network. Additionally, over 40 mental health providers in the community were trained in understanding warning signs and risk factors associated with targeted violence.

B-HARP GRANT GOALS

Increase and Maintain Threat Assessment Knowledge Among School Teams

The first step in building a community-wide and site-based threat assessment network is providing training to the individuals who are in the most important position in the threat assessment network: school sites. B-HARP strives to equip each school site with the training and knowledge to implement threat assessment protocols on their own campus independently.

In fulfilling this goal, training participants will increase and maintain ongoing threat assessment knowledge and skills from a Best Practice Threat Assessment Model. Education engagement practices in order to decrease criminalization and stigmatization of youth following a threat will be provided and implemented in campuses and the community at large.

Design a Community-Based Threat Assessment System

The needs for a Community-Based Threat Assessment are three-fold:

1. Threats may span more than a singular school site.

2. Level 1 school site teams may need support on more complex threat assessment cases from a team with advanced training.

3. A highly interconnected and trained community will result in the most effective threat identification, assessment, and management network.

This goal aims to increase community collaboration and utilization of threat assessment skills and meets all three of the needs listed above. Under this goal, B-HARP created a Level 2 Team that assists and consults Level 1 Site Teams and can implement threat assessment practices on a community-wide scale. Participants in this training and members of the Level 2 Community Team will understand and apply threat assessment from a Best Practice Model and will work to expand and solidify the community threat assessment network.

Educate School Staff, Students, and Parents about Behaviors of Concern (Warning Signs).

During B-HARP, we recognized the important role that teachers and staff have in identifying threats, due to their high level of engagement with students and their commitment to school safety. To prepare those working at educational institutions with the tools of threat assessment and management, we educated school teachers and staff on identifying and reporting behaviors of concern. We also provided information on reporting methods to ensure that teachers and staff know to whom to report behaviors of concern, and what steps the Level 1 Team would take with the information. The outcome was for participating teachers and staff to learn better methods to increase prevention and early detection of threats that are made.

Training Mental Health Professionals and Developing Provider Capacity

Under this goal, the community capacity of mental health providers to treat and monitor persons who have made threats would increase. Mental Health Providers serve as a crucial component of the community threat assessment network, in the identification, prevention, and management stages of threat assessment. As B-HARP originated from a community-based mental health perspective, it was viewed that community therapists and counselors are in a unique position in the network as they can identify potential concerning behaviors in working with their clients, as well as serve as a primary source of treatment and support for students and youth who have demonstrated concerning behaviors.