Thursday, September 23, 2010

Adapting CBITS and SSET to Support Foster Care Youth

Toolkit for Adapting Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) or Supporting Students Exposed to Trauma (SSET) for Implementation with Youth in Foster Care  (Dana Schultz, Dionne Barnes-Proby, Anita Chandra, Lisa H. Jaycox, Erin Maher, Peter Pecora)

The purpose of this toolkit is to assist school-based mental health professionals, school personnel, and child welfare social workers in adapting these interventions for use with youth aged 10-15 who are in foster care:
    • CBITS was developed for use by school-based mental health professionals for any student with symptoms of distress following exposure to trauma. 
    • SSET was adapted from CBITS for use by any school personnel with the time and interest to work with students affected by trauma.
    The authors note that delivering a school-based mental health program to youth in foster care has many challenges, including collaboration between the child welfare and education systems, confidentiality and information sharing policies regarding youth in foster care, and identification of these youth.

    The toolkit was designed to help understand these challenges and provide strategies for addressing them. It is made up of three parts:
    • Background Section
    • Overview of CBITS and SSET
    • Step-By-Step Guide to Implementing and Adapting CBITS/SSET for Foster Care Youth