SCHOOL SERVICES PROCEDURES

  1. Intakes are conducted in home, even for clients referred by the school. Exceptions require approval by the Clinical Director.
  2. When providing school-based services, at least half of all services for each client must include family therapy. At the intake session, make sure that the parents know that family therapy is an essential component of the treatment plan.
  3. Services provided at school must have a clinical justification. Usually this is because there are significant problems occurring at school and treatment at home for this problem is unlikely to be effective by itself. If you believe that sessions need to be provided at school for a different reason, approval by the Clinical Director is needed.
  4. School-based services are not just individual counseling. Sessions should include consultation with school personnel on strategies they can use to help make the client more successful at school. At least 15 minutes of each session must include consultation with and training of school personnel. Individual therapy with the client is limited to 45 minutes.
  5. For Medicaid, TBOS is required forin-school services. Individual-Family Therapy does not include consultation with school personnel, which is a required component of school-based services.
  6. For Insurance/Healthy Kids cases, in-school services are billed as 90834 (psychotherapy-45 minutes), so 45 minutes must be spent with the client (90834 has to be at least 45 minutes). An additional 15 minutes is spent consulting with school personnel before or after the session (not billable but is payable to you). You can include both in one note, but make sure that it is clear that the consultation was outside of the 45-minute therapy session.
  7. Remember that during the school day, that child is the school’s student, not your client. You are there to help the school by reducing problems they are having with their student and/or helping their student become more successful academically.
  8. If you will be removing the child from class for your session, try to schedule your sessions during “specials” (e.g., Art, Music, PE) rather than during required subjects. Our services should not interfere with the education of these students.
  9. If the referral did not come from the school but the client is having problems at school,
  1. contact the school and ask to speak with the person in charge of school-based services (or person who handles discipline, if they do not have a school-based services coordinator). When speaking with this person, explain the services that you can provide.
  2. If the school contact agrees that services are needed and desired by that school, ask that school contact to arrange a meeting with the principal to get permission before providing services to the client at that school.
  3. Prior to your first session with that client, have the principal and school-based services coordinator sign the School-Based Services Agreement”
  1. If the referral came from the school, only the school-based services coordinator at the school needs to sign the School-Based Services Agreement.
  2. For each client, have a new “School-Based Services Agreement” signed at the beginning of each school year, if you are continuing services from one school year to the next.
  3. Sign in and out of the “Visitor’s Log” at the school for each visit. Follow school policies while on campus (e.g., OrangeCounty requires you to wear your OCPS badgeand sign in the “Blue Book”).
  4. Our policy prohibits staff from restraining clients. Make sure that the school personnel you work with are aware that you cannot assist in physical interventions during crisis situations.
  5. Be sure that the school contact person knows in advance when you will be on campus, including calling to notify him/her if you have to cancel a session.
  6. Always wear your Adapt ID badge (and school board badge, if required) while on campus.
  7. Be sure to leave a minimum of 5 minutes travel between classrooms (more if it takes longer) between each progress note, if serving more than one client in a school.
  8. OrangeCounty requires completion of online orientation training prior to services beginning. Go to complete the “School-Based Services Orientation Webinar,” print the certificates (3 parts), and submit to your Program Manager.
  9. OrangeCounty requires completion of monthly Progress Summaries, which are given to the person in charge of referrals at the school by the 5th of each month for all clients either referred by the school or being seen at the school.

Revised 01/13