By Aaron L. Austin, Ed.D., Consultant, TNG Consulting, LLC
NABITA is excited to present our updated Industry Standards for Behavioral Intervention Teams (BITs). To familiarize you with these enhanced standards, we are launching a dedicated Tip of the Week series covering all 21 standards. We aim to provide valuable insights and practical guidance for effectively implementing the BIT Standards in higher education settings. Please note that the tips may not be released in consecutive order and are written for a higher education audience.
The first three standards provide guidelines for structuring a BIT or a CARE team, including determining your team’s authority, scope, audience, and name.
Standard 1. Team Authority and Scope: The team has a mission statement, a statement of scope, and the authority to fulfill its institutional charge.
A BIT or a CARE team is a small group of five to ten institutional officials who regularly gather and assess information about community members who may be at risk. This dedicated team, often consisting of administrators, faculty members, and staff, is responsible for addressing any behavioral concerns or issues that arise on or off campus related to members of the campus community. The team also addresses external sources of concern about visitors, parents, alums, former students, and former employees if the concern could impact the campus community.
The mission statement guides the BIT’s work, while the statement of scope defines who the BIT serves. Each should align with the institution’s academic mission and articulate how the team supports individual needs and community safety. The scope should be clear with respect to those whom the team will serve, potentially including students, faculty, staff, former students, non-credit students, guests, prospective students, contractors, visitors, and parents/guardians.
When developing and reviewing the BIT’s mission statement, practitioners should ensure the following components are present: 1) Scope: Identify those populations for whom the BIT conducts assessments and deploys interventions; 2) Safety: The BIT should balance the needs of the individual with the community’s safety; 3) Focus: Clearly articulate that the BIT focuses on threat assessment, prevention, and intervention; and 4) Connection: Ensure the BIT’s mission and goals align with the institution’s values.
BITs and CARE teams must prioritize developing a publicly available policy that establishes and authorizes the BIT in its mission, membership, and scope. This policy outlines the BIT’s authority to engage in its three main functions: gathering data, assessing risk (including conducting mandated psychological, violence risk, and threat assessments), and deploying interventions.
Practical tip: To get buy-in for developing a BIT policy, consider providing institutional leadership and decision makers with NABITA’s Standards for BITs Handout and the associated whitepaper to educate them on the vital work of a BIT. Additionally, offering a sample of a written policy statement can often be helpful so decision-makers can see what it might look like. Consider using NABITA’s Sample BIT Policy, which is included in the BITKit. Team retreats can also be a productive opportunity to get team members’ buy-in on drafting or revising the mission and scope statement.
Standard 2. Prevention vs. Threat Assessment: Institutions have one integrated team that addresses early intervention cases as well as threat assessment cases.
NABITA recommends one team that addresses concerns for all community members, but we recognize that institutional needs vary. Often, schools have multiple committees and teams on campus, including Critical Incident Response Teams, Campus Community Response Teams, and Threat Assessment Teams. These teams may examine trends, assess climate, or provide institutional coordination in response to critical incidents.
Standard two is meant to counter the common conception that schools need different teams for different response efforts. In fact, one team can address a spectrum of risks. To ensure clarity about where to send a referral, the BIT should be the only team receiving referrals for students in distress who pose a risk. When schools have other teams in addition to the BIT, information-sharing breakdowns between teams can threaten accurate risk assessment and the deployment of interventions for impacted individuals.
Practical tip: Institutions with multiple teams should consider combining them to reduce the number of information silos and redundant meetings, maintain open lines of communication, reduce the risk of fractured care responses, and ensure effective identification of at-risk community members. After forming an integrated team, it is essential to establish protocols for communication, collaboration, record management, and database access.
Standard 3. Team Name: The team’s name accurately communicates the team’s function within the context of the institutional community.
When establishing a BIT or a CARE team or renaming your existing team, it is essential to recognize that the name is the first and most visible communication that defines your purpose. While names vary by institution, they should strive to resonate with the campus climate and community in a way that garners buy-in from stakeholders and encourages referrals for all levels of concerning behaviors. Team names should avoid sending the message that the team is punitive, limited in scope, or focused on a specific type of behavior or concern. It is best to avoid words or acronyms that convey a negative connotation.
Teams may also consider using an acronym that is a word; for example, C.A.R.E. may mean Consultation, Assessment, Resources, and Education. Alternatively, you may use CARE or other words without an acronym attached. Marketing and branding, ease of recall, and connections to the institution name or mascot are also worth considering.
Practical tip: When determining the team’s name, start by creating and reviewing the team’s mission statement and scope. Then, choose a name that exemplifies that mission and scope while being easily distinguishable from other services or groups at the institution. Be cognizant of local and national organizations with similar names or missions to help avoid confusion among community members.
Stay tuned for the remaining BIT Standards Tips of the Week. In the meantime, please consider enrolling in our training course, Behavioral Intervention Team Standards & Best Practices. This course delivers an interactive and in-depth look at the standards of practice for team operating procedures and protocols.