West Virginia School Counseling Protocol
The professional school counselor facilitates delivery of the
WV Comprehensive Developmental School Counseling Program for all students.
Function 2A - PROGRAM DELIVERY
The professional school counselor ensures the delivery of the comprehensive, developmental School Counseling
Program aligned with West Virginia Board of Education Policy.
Indicator 2A4 The professional school counselor meets the needs of students through a variety of services and
programs that are delivered through multiple means.
Function 2F – STUDENT SUPPORTS
The professional school counselor assists in developing comprehensive student supports within the school and community to support academic, career, and personal/social development of all students.
Indicator 2F1 The professional school counselor contributes to a school climate that is learning-centered and fosters the
belief that all share a responsibility for the success of each student.
Indicator 2F3 The professional school counselor teams and communicates with other stakeholders to identify
and anticipate obstacles to student success and to identify and provide programs, resources and supports
that lessen/eliminate their impact and promote student success.
Given schools' unique ability to access large numbers of children, they are most commonly identified as the best place to provide supports to promote the universal mental health of children. (Prepared for the National Center for Mental Health
Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning at the
University of Illinois at Chicago. January 2008.)
There are a great deal of data indicating that large numbers of children are contending with significant social, emotional, and mental health barriers to their success in school and life. In addition, many children engage in challenging behaviors that educators must address to provide high quality instruction.
Materials :
1. CR1 – MHPET Assessment Tool Fact Sheet
2. CR2 – Three Tier Model Graphic of Sample Student Interventions
3. CR3 – Review WVESMH Website http://www.schoolmentalhealthwv.org/
4. CR4 - School’s Guide to Parent Notification, Record Sharing, and Confidentiality http://sites.google.com/site/wvesmhi/tools-and-resources
5. CR5 – Best Practices Model Executive Summary
1   Protocol   Developers:    Lori   Helmick,   Counselor  ‐  St.
Mary’s   High   School;    John   Tomaszewski,   Counselor   –   Valley   High
School;   Barbara   Ashcraft,   School   counseling   Coordinator   –   WVDE;   Shelly   DeBerry,   Student   Success   Advocate   –
WVDE,   Linda   Anderson,   State   ESMH   Coordinator  ‐   WV   School   Health   Technical   Assistance   Center,   Robert   C.
Byrd   Center   for
Rural   Health ‐  Marshall   University   –   Draft   Protocol   approved   –   April   29,   2011   –   State   Protocol   Committee   Meeting.

West Virginia School Counseling Protocol
Materials (continued):
6. CR6 –WVESMH Brief No 2 – April 2011 http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnx3dmVzbWhpfGd4OjE2ZjlmMGQ
3ZDE2ZTUyYzQ
7. CR7 - Connecting Social and Emotional Learning with Mental Health
8. CR8 - Realizing the Promise of the Whole School Approach to Children’s Mental Health: A Practical Guide for
Schools http://sites.google.com/site/wvesmhi/tools-and-resources
Procedures:
1. The counselor initiates a conversation with the school principal, school nurse, local community mental health agency, and the RESA’s Community Health Wellness specialist to identify a group of school, community and district professionals, and parents to make up a steering committee who will examine the school’s current approach to school mental health and make recommendations to begin a process of developing an Expanded
School Mental Health Model (ESMH). (See description of the West Virginia Model in Counselor Resource # 6:
WVESMH Brief No. 2.)
2. The counselor works collaboratively with the steering l team to identify strengths and weaknesses related to school mental health within current system and develop goals and an action plan addressing priority needs using the MHPET assessment tool and CR8: Realizing the Promise Guide.
3. The school counselor assist ESMH Steering team to provide initial and ongoing training for students, staff and parents regarding the school’s Expanded School Mental Health Model and resources to support students, staff and family to enhance implementation.
4. The counselor and school administration collaborates with community behavioral health provider(s) to provide regular, on site mental health counseling (indicator: a formal MOU between school system and community provider)
1. The counselor facilitates a school-wide process to conduct universal assessments of student social and emotional skills and current support systems . (Tools such as CFWV interest and academic assessments and other personal assessments to be gathered, appropriate programmatic level assessments, etc.).
2. The counselor, in conjunction with designated school improvement team members, conducts needs assessments
[ http://wvde.state.wv.us/forms/counseling-assessment/ , http://wvde.state.wv.us/forms/counselingassessment/?level=m ] at each programmatic level to identify priority needs to be addressed through developmental guidance lessons and group counseling to assure the school counseling program addresses identified academic and behavioral health needs.
3. The Steering Committee will analyze assessment results, identify priority needs, and determine resources required to provide universal, targeted and intensive interventions. (Counselor Resource : Three Tier Model of
Support Interventions)
4. The counselor works collaboratively with Steering Committee to investigate and identify all community agencies and partners that are able to assist in providing student supports that address social emotional learning. ( list of possible community partners, RESA will be compiling list and creating a clearing house of student support services within the community).
5. The counselor assists the Steering Committee in creating a plan to deliver prevention / intervention services in conjunction with the identified community partners in a collaborative process with all school staff. The plan should
2   Protocol   Developers:    Lori   Helmick,   Counselor  ‐  St.
Mary’s   High   School;    John   Tomaszewski,   Counselor   –   Valley   High
School;   Barbara   Ashcraft,   School   counseling   Coordinator   –   WVDE;   Shelly   DeBerry,   Student   Success   Advocate   –
WVDE,   Linda   Anderson,   State   ESMH   Coordinator  ‐   WV   School   Health   Technical   Assistance   Center,   Robert   C.
Byrd   Center   for
Rural   Health ‐  Marshall   University   –   Draft   Protocol   approved   –   April   29,   2011   –   State   Protocol   Committee   Meeting.

West Virginia School Counseling Protocol
address the recommended components of the ESMH model: infrastructure development, a school wide positive behavior program, early identification and intervention, student and family engagement, school climate, safety, crisis management, and staff training.
6. The school counselor delivers a standards-based guidance curriculum to address academic and personal/social development needs for all students, based on identified student needs.
7. The counselor maintains a working knowledge of community resources and a list of contacts.
1. The school counselor works with the Steering Team to develop an early identification process to ensure all at-risk students are systematically identified at each grade level.
2. The school counselor works collaboratively with community mental health partners to educate staff regarding early and ongoing identification of at-risk students.
3. The school counselor in collaboration with community MH provider creates a referral process for identified at-risk students.
4. The school counselor ( or other referral source if counselor is not available ) conducts initial screening of referred students and determines next steps: a. identifies resources to address identified need following consultation with student and/or parent b. provides brief counseling addressing issues and student is able to resume normal school function c. integrates student into appropriate counseling group that target individual needs d. refers student to school based mental health counselor for counseling related to a private, confidential matter e. refers to appropriate agency to address immediate needs (CPS, WIC, Health Clinic, School Nurse, etc.) f. refers student to SAT team for a more collaborative approach to developing a student support plan to address multiple or complex student needs i. development of behavioral plan ii. identification of an in-school and/or external mentor iii. tutoring or other academic services iv. dropout prevention plan v. other wrap-around services to support the student
1. Counselor, other staff, or community mental health partner refers student to the SAT team for further collaboration and or identification of interventions to assist students who need intensive/ongoing interventions.
2. After several interventions have been implemented to support student and the student is still struggling, the school counselor, Community Mental Health Provider, and/or SAT team refers students for intensive support services to address student needs that cannot be addressed within the first two tiers. These interventions may include but are not limited to: a. referral for special education or 504 Plan b. referral for residential treatment c. AA/NA or other intensive treatment programs
3   e. tutoring f. Tier III RTI g. Create a systemic approach to facilitating of the intervention process. Ensure follow up protocols are in place to ensure students are receiving interventions. h. Etc.
Protocol   Developers:    Lori   Helmick,   Counselor  ‐  St.
Mary’s   High   School;    John   Tomaszewski,   Counselor   –   Valley   High
School;   Barbara   Ashcraft,   School   counseling   Coordinator   –   WVDE;   Shelly   DeBerry,   Student   Success   Advocate   –
WVDE,   Linda   Anderson,   State   ESMH   Coordinator  ‐   WV   School   Health   Technical   Assistance   Center,   Robert   C.
Byrd   Center   for
Rural   Health ‐  Marshall   University   –   Draft   Protocol   approved   –   April   29,   2011   –   State   Protocol   Committee   Meeting.

West Virginia School Counseling Protocol
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Lack of community agencies to support school’s initiatives
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Counselor may be in multiple school and unable to take the lead
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Lack of administrative support at the school, county, or RESA level
Additional Resources:
Data from the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5504.pdf)
MPHET Assessment - http://www.nasbhc.org/site/c.jsJPKWPFJrH/b.3015469/k.D4E8/MH_MHPET.htm
National Assembly of School Based Health Care http://www.nasbhc.org/site/c.jsJPKWPFJrH/b.2642293/k.85AC/mental_health.htm
http://ncfy.acf.hhs.gov/publications/assessment-screening
‐  http://www.teenscreen.org/resources/press-releasesstatements/no-one-asked-me/
‐  http://www.mchlibrary.info/schools/srb_Mental_Conditions.html
Evaluation:
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Steering Committee meeting notes
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MOU with community agency
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SAT, 504, IEP meeting notes
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Student, parent contact logs
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Referral logs (both to the school counseling program and from the school counseling program)
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Student behavior and academic plans
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Number of students served
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School results data: attendance, retention rates, dropout rates, test scores, discipline referrals, etc.
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Needs assessment and survey data
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School-wide assessment data (all tools)
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Results of a universal student outcomes evaluation tool ( e.g. The SDQ)
4   Protocol   Developers:    Lori   Helmick,   Counselor  ‐  St.
Mary’s   High   School;    John   Tomaszewski,   Counselor   –   Valley   High
School;   Barbara   Ashcraft,   School   counseling   Coordinator   –   WVDE;   Shelly   DeBerry,   Student   Success   Advocate   –
WVDE,   Linda   Anderson,   State   ESMH   Coordinator  ‐   WV   School   Health   Technical   Assistance   Center,   Robert   C.
Byrd   Center   for
Rural   Health ‐  Marshall   University   –   Draft   Protocol   approved   –   April   29,   2011   –   State   Protocol   Committee   Meeting.