NaBITA Announces Newly Revised Objective Risk Rubric for the Assessment of Threats of Violence and Self-harm in School Settings and 2019 Whitepaper
BERWYN, Pa., April 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- NaBITA, the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association, is pleased to announce the release of its newly revised objective Risk Rubric for the Assessment of Threats of Violence and Self-harm in School Settings. NaBITA pioneered this tool in 2009, and since its introduction, the NaBITA Threat Assessment Tool 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 is quickly expanding into PreK-12 school environments and corporate/workplace settings (Schiemann & Van Brunt, 2018).
Ten years on, NaBITA set out to improve the efficacy and user-friendliness of the tool with what is now the second major revision since it was designed. The 2019 revision will increase the ease of use for BITs, and enhances the application of the tool in low-level, early intervention cases. Changes were made to promote both clarity and consistency. Teams should find that the revised tool makes it easier to assess and classify risk and increases team confidence in decision-making on all cases. Additionally, NaBITA has published a Whitepaper explaining the research behind the tool and the process for applying the tool to behavioral intervention team cases.
One of the key changes for 2019 is a change in name from the NaBITA Threat Assessment Tool to the NaBITA Risk Rubric. The new name better reflects the application of the rubric in all BIT situations, not only those with a threat present. Other changes include refining the scales to eliminate overlap among the levels, aligning the levels of risk across all three scales, and enhancing the intervention roadmap on the flip-side of the tool to better reflect emerging intervention and case management practices in the field.
NaBITA emphasizes that these major revisions will keep the NaBITA Risk Rubric well-positioned as the central tool 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 newly revised NaBITA Risk Rubric, in combination with the Whitepaper, provides teams with 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 two annual conferences, several certification trainings yearly, a weekly newsletter, and frequent online trainings. NaBITA serves as a best practices clearinghouse for over 1,550 members by providing BIT-related model policies, training tools, and templates. For more information, visit www.nabita.org.
Media contact:
Michelle Issadore
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610-993-0229
SOURCE National Behavioral Intervention Team Association
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