Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral To services (SBIRT)

SBIRT stands for, “Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral To services”. SBIRT aims to empower Northshore School District to more effectively identify and address the needs of middle school students through the use of a screening tool called “Check Yourself”, developed by Seattle Children’s Hospital and the University of Washington with Tickit Health. The goal of SBIRT is to help reduce adolescent substance use, promote mental health, and connect students with the resources needed to thrive both in school and in life.

In the spring of 2018, the Northshore School District was awarded the SBIRT-SB (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral To services- School-Based) grant, to be implemented in King County middle schools, as part of the Best Starts for Kids King County initiative. 

Best Starts for Kids is a King County voter-approved initiative that focuses on increasing the positive resources and opportunities that help kids grow up healthy and happy, decreasing negative factors that may prevent kids from establishing a strong foundation in life, and intervening early when kids and families need more support.

Last year, the Northshore School District was in the planning stages of SBIRT with the five King County middle schools; Canyon Park, Kenmore, Leota, Northshore, and Timbercrest. In the 2019-2020 school year, these participating schools will look to screen 7th or 8th grade students through an opt-in process. Kenmore, Northshore and Timbercrest families with a 7th grade student and Canyon Park and Leota families with 8th grade students, will receive an opt-in letter from their school. Parents and guardians may then choose whether or not they would like their student to participate in SBIRT. If parents/guardians choose to opt-in their child to participate in SBIRT, the student will use the “Check Yourself” screener to self-assess around strengths and goals; substance use; mental health; and personal safety. In the end, the “Check Yourself” tool will provide school counselors with a holistic snapshot of the student; to better understand their needs, their challenges, their successes, and to assure students have the appropriate resources needed to succeed.

Schools will use a wellness screener called “Check Yourself”. The “Check Yourself” screening tool was developed by Seattle Children’s Hospital and the University of Washington with Tickit Health. Unlike other screeners, SBIRT is a self-assessment. This interactive teen-friendly survey asks questions around four main areas: Strengths (goals, supportive relationships, and school connectedness); Substance use (potential to use, use in the past year, and frequency of use); Mental Health (anxiety, depression, PTSD symptoms, and self harm thoughts) and Safety (harassment, feeling safe at school, and context at home).  At the end of the survey, students will receive personalized feedback regarding healthy behaviors. For school support teams, this tool will help start conversations with students around healthy lifestyle choices, safety, and address any areas of concern or student needs. Parents and guardians will also be notified if their student(s) can benefit from additional supports at school or within the community.

In the 2019-2020 school year, these participating schools will look to screen 7th or 8th grade students through an opt-in process. Seventh grade students at Kenmore, Northshore and Timbercrest middle schools as well as 8th grade students at Leota and Canyon Park middle schools whose parents/guardians choose to opt-in will be screened. Screening dates are dependent on which school your student attends, but all participating schools are targeting dates shortly after the return from winter break. Communication on your school’s screening date will be sent out one month prior to screening.

While this survey was developed by Children’s Hospital and the University of Washington, the data they will receive will not have any identifiable information. Students receive the Check Yourself screener with a randomly generated ID, in which only designated school support staff will have access to identifiable student information in order to follow up with the student if needed. Check Yourself is HIPAA compliant with password protection and meets personal health information privacy and security standards. All documented data associated to the Check Yourself screening tool with be eradicated in the fall of 2022.