Resolution No. 2019-39 Adopting a Mental Health Plan for Aventura City of Excellence School (ACES) - July 18, 2019 RESOLUTION NO. 2019-39
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
AVENTURA, FLORIDA, ACTING IN THEIR CAPACITY AS THE BOARD
OF DIRECTORS FOR THE AVENTURA CITY OF EXCELLENCE
SCHOOL, ADOPTING A MENTAL HEALTH PLAN FOR THE
AVENTURA CITY OF EXCELLENCE SCHOOL (ACES); AUTHORIZING
THE EXECUTION OF NECESSARY DOCUMENTS; AND PROVIDING
FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF AVENTURA, FLORIDA, THAT:
Section 1. The establishment of the Aventura City of Excellence School (ACES)
Mental Health Plan, as attached hereto, is hereby adopted by the City Commission of
the City of Aventura, Florida, acting in their capacity as the Board of Directors for the
Aventura City of Excellence School.
Section 2. The City and School officials are hereby authorized to execute the
Mental Health Plan for the Aventura City of Excellence School (ACES), in substantially
the form attached hereto, and to do all things necessary to carry out the aims of this
resolution.
Section 3. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its
adoption.
The foregoing Resolution was offered by Commissioner Mezrahi, who moved its
adoption. The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Landman, and upon being put to a
vote, the vote was as follows:
Commissioner Dr. Linda Marks Yes
Commissioner Gladys Mezrahi Yes
Commissioner Marc Narotsky Yes
Commissioner Robert Shelley Absent
Commissioner Howard Weinberg Yes
Vice Mayor Denise Landman Yes
Mayor Enid Weisman Yes
City of Aventura Resolution No. 2019-39
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 18th day of July, 2019.
ENID WEIS AOR
o‘ G
ATTEST:
CSL `�f L1i•
ELLISA L. HORVIVMMC
CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL SUFFICIENCY: /'
CITY ATTORNEY
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Aventura City of Excellence School MSID#13-0950
Aventura City of Excellence School
MSI D#13-0950
Mental Health Assistance Plan
Updated June 2019
Aventura City of Excellence School recognizes the connections between mental health and student
academic performance. Our teachers help to support mental health in the classroom by being
culturally sensitive, creating awareness and supporting students based on their individual needs.
Aventura City of Excellence School is committed to increasing access to mental health supports
for its students. Aventura City of Excellence School's mental health team guides and monitors this
plan's implementation. Regularly scheduled meetings of the team provide a forum for
professional collaboration and allow for monitoring of screenings, referrals, interventions, and
student progress.
DELIVERING EVIDENCE-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES THROUGH A MULTI-TIERED SYSTEM
OF SUPPORTS
Tier 1: Promotion and Prevention
For students:Aventura City of Excellence School's curriculum will infuse social emotional
learning and character education, which may include such topics as self-management,
self-awareness, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness, as
examples.
For staff: Aventura City of Excellence School's employees will receive professional
development to encourage positive attitudes and competency in mental health and
substance abuse awareness.
Tier 2: Promotion and Prevention Using Small Groups, Embedded Strategies and Targeted
Support for Identified Students
Aventura City of Excellence School will support students through the use of small groups
to teach self-regulation, improve social skills and provide an opportunity for peer
mentoring, as some examples. Aventura City of Excellence School will enter into
collaborative partnerships with community mental health providers and agencies. When
students are identified as needing additional support through appropriate referral and
screening processes, Aventura City of Excellence School will refer students and families
to those local providers and agencies for targeted mental health interventions.
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Aventura City of Excellence School MSID#13-0950
Tier 3: Promotion, Prevention and Intervention to Decrease Symptoms
Aventura City of Excellence School will secure licensed mental health providers who will
work on site to provide evidence-based mental health interventions and services to
students requiring individualized, intensive counseling and support. Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy (CBT) and Trauma Focused CBT will address affective/emotional,
cognitive/thinking-based, and behavioral problems. For students with substance abuse
issues, interventions may include a focus on developing and employing coping skills and
psychoeducation through the use of Seeking Safety to address substance abuse.Students
receiving tier 3 interventions will have individual treatment plans,which will be reviewed
regularly and adjusted based on progress monitoring data.
EVIDENCE-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR STUDENTS WITH ONE OR MORE CO-
OCCURRING MENTAL HEALTH OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE DIAGNOSES AND STUDENTS AT RISK OF
SUCH DIAGNOSES
As referenced above, Aventura City of Excellence School will secure licensed mental health
providers, which may include a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
and/or Licensed Mental Health Counselor/Substance Abuse Counselor. These professionals will
provide evidence-based mental health and substance abuse interventions. At-risk students will
be identified using screening and assessment procedures described below.
STAFFING OF SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES PROVIDERS TO REDUCE STAFF-TO-
STUDENT RATIOS AND MEET STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH ASSISTANCE NEEDS
Aventura City of Excellence School will secure licensed mental health providers who will work on
site for a total number of hours commensurate to a minimum of 90% of the school's mental
health assistance allocation to meet the mental health assistance needs of our students.
Aventura City of Excellence School will maximize third-party billing opportunities, through
Medicaid and commercial insurance, when applicable, to allow for increased financial resources
to allow for expanded provider service schedules and a reduction in staff-to-student ratios.
STRATEGIES TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF TIME STUDENT SERVICES PERSONNEL SPEND
PROVIDING DIRECT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Aventura City of Excellence School's screening process will allow the school to be able to identify
students who are at the greatest need of intervention. Using a multi-tiered system of supports,
Aventura City of Excellence School is able to allocate resources based on student needs.
Students who are identified as needing Tier 3 interventions will have the greatest number of
touchpoints by student services personnel, followed by those identified as needing Tier 2
supports. Students at the Tier 1 level will benefit from school-wide social-emotional
programming and monitoring by their teachers who will receive training on mental health
awareness and how to recognize student warning signs. As members of Aventura City of
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Aventura City of Excellence School MSID#13-0950
Excellence School's mental health team, student services personnel will also participate in
discussions regarding student screening, referrals, intervention, and progress which will further
guide how student services personnel will allocate their time. As stated above, Aventura City of
Excellence School will also maximize third-party billing opportunities, to provide additional
funding to allow for expanded provider service schedules which will then increase the amount of
time student services personnel spend providing direct mental health services to our students.
CONTRACTS/INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS WITH LOCAL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROVIDERS TO
PROVIDE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES ON OR OFF THE SCHOOL CAMPUS
Aventura City of Excellence School has established an agreement with a local behavioral health
provider to support the behavioral health needs of our students. The agreement affords our
students the opportunity for screening, evaluation, treatment planning, small group and/or
individual services, and progress monitoring. The agreement also provides for classroom
functional behavior assessments. Additionally, Aventura City of Excellence School will continue
to expand upon its relationships with other behavioral health providers in the community.
PROCEDURES TO ENSURE TIMELY ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT
Aventura City of Excellence School's licensed mental health provider records all referrals for
school-based assessments in a secure, cloud-based system. The system will populate the 15 day
requirement for assessment and the follow up 15 day requirement to initiate school-based
services. This system will send notifications to appropriate personnel at benchmarked dates to
ensure that these deadlines are adhered to. A report will be run monthly to ensure that no
students are out of compliance with these requirements. If a student or the family is not-
responsive after multiple attempts to make contact to initiate consent for assessment and/or
service initiation, this will be noted as a means to document any compliance concerns with the
timelines. For community-based providers, the collaborative partnership agreement will reflect
an understanding that services are to be initiated within 30 days of referral and that Aventura
City of Excellence School's mental health liaison will be contacted when the provider makes initial
contact with the family. Assuming that the family signs a mutual consent to allow for information
to be shared between the provider and the school,the referral provider will be required to share
assessment date and initiation of services date with the mental health liaison as well. The mental
health liaison will maintain this information and review it on a monthly basis.
COORDINATION OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES WITH PRIMARY MENTAL HEALTH CARE
PROVIDER OR OTHER MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS
During the enrollment process, Aventura City of Excellence School will collect data from the
parent/guardian of the student regarding any mental health services the student receives outside
of the school. In addition, parents/guardians will be asked to share contact information for the
student's primary mental health care provider. Parents will be asked to sign a mutual release
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Aventura City of Excellence School MSID#13-0950
form to allow our mental health team to discuss applicable information with those providers.The
Aventura City of Excellence School team will initiate contact with the external providers to
coordinate supports for students.
STRATEGIES OR PROGRAMS TO: REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF AT-RISK STUDENTS DEVELOPING
SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL OR BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS; DEPRESSIONS; ANXIETY DISORDERS;
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES;SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS; IMPROVE THE EARLY IDENTIFICATION
OF SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL OR BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS;
IMPROVE THE PROVISION OF EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES;AND ASSIST STUDENTS DEALING
WITH TRAUMA AND VIOLENCE
Screening/Assessment
During the first year of plan implementation, Aventura City of Excellence School will utilize a
universal screening process for all students that will identify indicators for students with or at-
risk of having or developing mental health or substance abuse issues. In subsequent years, new
students and students in designated grade levels will participate in screening. This screening
process will allow Aventura City of Excellence School to identify students in need of Tier 2 and/or
Tier 3 interventions. For students in need of these targeted/intensive interventions, additional
screening and/or assessment may occur. Examples of instruments may include the CDC's Adverse
Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Survey, Beck Youth Inventory, Family Inventory Assessment or
others at the discretion of the mental health team.
Coordinated System of Care
As part of the assessment process, Aventura City of Excellence School will collect data from the
parent/guardian of the student regarding community mental health services the student
receives. Parents will be asked to sign a mutual release form to allow our mental health team to
discuss applicable information with the agency. This team will initiate contact with the external
provider to coordinate supports for students.
Aventura City of Excellence School's mental health providers will be required to establish a
collaborative partnership with community-based mental health/substance abuse treatment
agencies. Should a student require additional or more specialized treatment (psychiatric care,
medication management, Baker Act, etc.), Aventura City of Excellence School will refer to these
community-based agencies following their procedures.
All school staff will receive training on mental health awareness and how to identify warning signs
of mental health concerns, substance abuse and childhood trauma. Aventura City of Excellence
School has also partnered with a third-party agency which has developed suicide/self-harm
protocols for the school to follow, in addition to district required procedures. Training
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Aventura City of Excellence School MSID#13-0950
components for staff includes Aventura City of Excellence School's referral process to allow
students of concern to be brought to the attention of the school's mental health team.
Aventura City of Excellence School's mental health team will meet regularly. At these meetings,
the team will discuss screening results, students in need of referral, status updates of students
currently receiving interventions,concerns/challenges/successes noted by members of the team,
as well as additional actions requiring further follow up.
The school will utilize a multi-tiered system of supports as previously described to meet the needs
of our students. Based on the results of the screening process conducted by Aventura City of
Excellence School, students in need of tier 2 or tier 3 intervention will be identified and referred
to the school's mental health/substance abuse providers and/or community partners.
Aventura City of Excellence School will also establish a collaborative partnership with community-
based mental health/substance abuse treatment agencies. Should a student require additional
or more specialized treatment (psychiatric care, medication management, Baker Act, etc.),
Aventura City of Excellence School will refer to these community-based agencies following their
procedures.
EXPENDITURES&EXPENDITURE ASSURANCES
Number of school-based mental health Board Certified Behavior Analyst: 1
Licensed Clinical Social Worker/Licensed
providers funded by the allocation and
Mental Health Counselor/Licensed Marriage
licensure/certification for each
& Family Therapist: 1
Number of community-based mental health
providers funded by the allocation and 0
licensure for each
Aventura City of Excellence School estimates that its 2019-2020 Mental Health Assistance
Allocation will be $22,811.31 (based on 1017 students at $22.43 per student). The following
expenditures will be adjusted based on the proportionate share of the 2019-2020 allocation
passed through by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Aventura City of Excellence School's
estimated breakdown of expenditures is as follows:
Estimated Student Screening Costs $254.25
Estimated Costs for Board Certified Behavior
Analyst $2,053.02
Estimated Costs for Licensed Clinical Social
Worker/Licensed Mental Health
Counselor/Licensed Marriage & Family $18,222.91
Therapist
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Aventura City of Excellence School MSID#13-0950
Estimated Indirect/Administrative Costs $2,281.13
Estimated Total Expenditures $22,811.31
Aventura City of Excellence School provides assurance that 100%of the Mental Health Assistance
Allocation funds will be used to expand school-based mental health care; train educators and
other school staff in detecting and responding to mental health issues; and connect children,
youth and families with appropriate behavioral health services. Aventura City of Excellence
School provides assurance that Mental Health Assistance Allocation funds do not supplant other
funding sources or increase staff salaries or provide staff bonuses.
Aventura City of Excellence School's mental health providers will maximize use of other sources
of funding to provide school-based mental health services. Aventura City of Excellence School
will seek Medicaid and commercial insurance reimbursement when applicable for allowable
expenditures with appropriate parental consent. Aventura City of Excellence School may also
research additional opportunities for funding, such as grants.
PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTCOMES
Number and ratio of FDOE-certified or
2 licensed, school-based mental health
licensed, school-based mental health services
providers secured by Aventura City of service providers
Excellence School 0.31 FTE
Aventura City of Excellence School's mental health team will utilize a recording system to
maintain and track data for the following indicators:
• Number of students at high risk for mental health or co-occurring substance abuse
disorders who received mental health screenings or assessments
• Number of students referred to school-based mental health services providers
• Number of students referred to community-based mental health services providers
• Number of students who received school-based interventions, services or assistance
• Number of students who received community-based interventions, services or assistance
This data will be reported to the state annually by September 30th of each year.
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uli: •Im, Principal 'onald J. W.Iso Board Chairperson
Av nt v ity of Excellence School City of Avent a
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