NaBITA Announces Newly Revised Objective Risk Rubric for the Assessment of Threats of Violence and Self-harm in K-12 School Settings and 2020 Whitepaper

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., April 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NaBITA, the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association, is pleased to announce the release of the new NaBITA K-12 Risk Rubric. NaBITA pioneered this tool for use in higher education in 2009, and since its introduction, it has become the most widely used risk rubric by behavioral intervention teams in the United States. It is currently used by 92% of behavioral intervention teams and given the expansion of these teams into K-12 school environments, NaBITA has created this new version of the Risk Rubric specifically for the K-12 setting (Schiemann & Van Brunt, 2018).

The NaBITA K-12 Risk Rubric was updated to reflect the needs, resources, and terminology found in the K-12 setting. The goal of this K-12-specific version was to create a tool that was user-friendly for K-12 administrations and that applied to the risk factors and behaviors that are seen in a school-aged population. Behavioral intervention teams in the K-12 setting should find that the revised tool makes it easier to assess and classify risk and increases team confidence in decision-making on all cases.

Makenzie Schiemann, M.S., Interim Executive Director and Vice President of NaBITA stated:
"The NaBITA K-12 Risk Rubric marks a monumental shift in the capacity for K-12 behavioral intervention teams to appropriately assess and respond to students of concern."

NaBITA emphasizes that this new version of the tool will keep the NaBITA Risk Rubric well-positioned as the central tool K-12 teams choose for behavioral and risk evaluation. The NaBITA Risk Rubric evolves as research expands – and continues to reflect the leading edge of multidisciplinary research related to violence and threat assessment – to provide an objective, evidence-based risk rating for BIT cases. The accompanying Whitepaper provides an in-depth review of the rubric's application to cases, including citations to the research which influenced its development.

Since NaBITA's inception, the creation and use of an objective risk assessment has been a crucial component of the BIT process. BITs should engage in three key phases as they work through a case: data-gathering, analysis of risk, and intervention. The NaBITA K-12 Risk Rubric, in combination with the Whitepaper, provides school-based teams with the latest tools necessary to engage in this process effectively to protect and enhance the safety of schools and colleges.

The National Behavioral Intervention Team Association (NaBITA) is committed to making our campuses, schools, and workplaces safer environments by fostering and encouraging development, education, and caring intervention. As the leading organization in the field of behavioral intervention teams (BITs), NaBITA provides education, best practice recommendations, and on-going trainings through an annual conference, multiple certification trainings yearly, a weekly newsletter, and frequent online trainings. NaBITA serves as a best practices clearinghouse for 1,500 members by providing BIT-related model policies, training tools, and templates. For more information, visit www.nabita.org. 

Contact:
Michelle Issadore
610-993-0229
[email protected]

SOURCE National Behavioral Intervention Team Association

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