Keystone Human Services

Keystone Children & Family Services

Services: Student Assistance Program

Service Description

  1. A Student Assistance Program (SAP) is designed to identify students experiencing behavior and/or academic which pose a barrier to their learning and success in school. These barriers take many forms including mental health and substance use/abuse issues. The program is a vehicle for intervening and referring students to appropriate school and community resources. It emcompasses prevention services as well. Student Assistance is an intervention, not a treatment, program. It is an avenue for promoting positive mental health.

    Student Assistance Program (SAP) provides an array of mental health consultation and support services to all school districts in Dauphin County. Mental Health Consultant serve as liaison to Students Assistance teams in middle, junior high, and high schools. Student Assistance teams consist of school personnel and agency liaisons trained to identify, assess, and refer students at risk of drug, alcohol, and mental health issues. In addition to supporting these teams, Student Assistance staff provide consultation regarding mental health issues to school personnel, students, families, and community members.

  2. Student Assistance Program services include the following:

    • Consultant meeting attendance
    • Informal mental health assessments
    • Telephone consultation
    • Critical incident post-vention
    • Participation in team maintenance sessions
    • Student Assistance policy and procedure review
    • Training for students and faculty regarding mental health issues
    • Conducting mental health related support groups

    The Mental Health Consultants of the SAP are also available to provide technical assistance to Student Assistance Teams on issues such as SAP guidelines for program implementation, confidentiality and liability issues, policy development, cultural competency, group facilitation, and self-care/burnout. Technical assistance also involves facilitating team maintenance which include the following:

    • Team building/strengthening
    • Examining team communication patterns
    • Conflict analysis/resolution activities
    • Reviewing SAP process and streamlining team functioning
    • Self-awareness activities
    • Evaluating individual team member satisfaction
    • Team revitalization

    The Mental Health Consultants of the SAP program also help co-facilitate group sessions held in the schools with 6-10 students per group. These groups focus on mental health issues such as bullying, self-esteem, grief and loss. They provide a support system of peers for students and an avenue for addressing issues that are impacting students in schools.

  3. Currently the Student Assistance Program is administratively run by one supervisor and employs four full-time and one part-time staff.

Consumers Served
The Mental Health Consultants. serve as liaison to Students Assistance teams in middle, junior high, and high schools all school districts in Dauphin County. The Mental Health Consultants conduct informal as well as follow-up assesments to all children that have been referred by the school' Student Assistance teams which consists of school personnel and agency liaisons trained to identify, assess, and refer students at risk of drug, alcohol, and mental health issues.
Service Availability
During the school year SAP consultants conduct informal mental health assessments and follow-up contracts to student's identified as "at-risk".
Admission Criteria
Prior to SAP Mental Health Consultant conducting an informal assessment with a student the following needs to occur:
  1. The student must already be a formal SAP referral
  2. The student should already be assigned to a SAP team case manager
  3. Decision to refer has been made by the team
Discharge Criteria
Performance Standards
  • One continuing goal that there be no waiting lists for services. Now that we serve all middle and high schools in the school districts of Dauphin County our next challenge is to expand into all the elementary schools.
  • SAP consultants will respond to any school-based crisis or catastrophe on a same day basis.
  • The SAP will be available on a next day basis whenever a need for post-vention was to arise.
  • SAP consultants will complete school based assessments on a timely basis, that being no later than one week from the time of referral to the SAP consultant with reporting occurring no later than the next regularly scheduled SAP Team Meeting.
  • Upon determining that more mental health services are required, SAP consultants will make appropriate referrals to external treatment sources within three business days.
  • SAP consultants will confer with appropriate treatment personnel whenever appropriate, as long as required consents to exchange information are obtained.
  • SAP consultants will provide thematic group counseling when requested.
Recovery: In Our Own Words

This page last updated on:
October 3, 2007