To Improve Attendance, Reduce Behavior Incidents, Improve Academic Performance,
& Expand Early Intervention Programs to Achieve Safe Schools and Healthy Relationships.

 Introduction  - Safe Schools Software Management System SSSMS by CADAFIS, Inc.
SSSMS is a management and data support system for schools whose objectives are to create safe, respectful, and drug free school environments, and promote early positive behaviors and healthy relationships.  The SSSMS provides Manuals, Procedures, and Software. The object of SSSMS is to improve program processes and outcome evaluations to reduce problem behavior incidents, improve attendance and academics, and expand access to and strengthen prevention and early intervention programs.
 
The SSS management system is similar to the world-wide proven practices known as Continuous Process Improvement and ISO 9000 Series Programs. Over 350,000 companies are registered to ISO 9000 Programs. The benefits include improved consistency of services, higher customer satisfaction levels, cost economies, and improved job satisfaction. Although students are not widgets, the same management techniques have been adapted to social service organizations, and the same benefits derived from these successful applications are all important to services and programs in achieving safe schools and healthy relationships; and providing teachers with an environment to achieve professional job satisfaction.  

The SSSMS software is a secure access, web based data system. The software sections consist of Section 1: Incident Tracking; Programs and Services Referrals and Outcome Evaluations, and Section 2:  Program Management Capabilities Audit and Process Action Measures. The software together with the management process provide the capability to acquire, organize, file, and evaluate the data and automatically produce and disseminate reports and continuously improve the processes.  
 
Many schools are rethinking their behavioral, mental health care programs, curricula, activities and services. With the proposed changes to their programs; these school districts should rethink the ways and methods these services are delivered; In short, audit present combinations of prevention and intervention services and determine how best to organize and report data. Then implement change based upon the statistical findings.  Does the present system and data format provide outcomes and process evaluations, facilitate and support program fidelity, facilitate responsiveness and eliminate burdensome data handling tasks?
 
SSSMS is seeking school districts to participate in a Grant Beta Project. The project would be funded by SSSMS and grants.

Grant Project Objectives: 1. School District, and 2. Community
 
         1. Schools: Strengthen the district’s safe schools, healthy relationships programs, their management and data system, and;
         2. Community: Determine the economic benefits of expanded behavioral health early intervention and prevention programs.

There is sufficient evidence to indicate that significant cost benefits may be attained for the district and the community, as a result of initiatives such as the Beta Project, however there has been few costs studies published. One of the reasons, as found in the SAMHSA Survey, discussed below, is paucity of uniform data. A recent Ohio research institute’s study findings indicate that family violence is estimated to cost the citizens of Ohio $3 billion/year in costs. The research institutes foundation’s top recommendations, as a result of the study, and because of the unique position of schools in the delivery of mental, behavioral health care services is to: “Create school environments that promote healthy relationships”. Other foundations committed to these same issues have made statements these type initiatives would yield economic benefits, as opposed to the costs of incarceration, rehabilitation, foster care, welfare and institutional care. With the leadership of school administrators, support is available to initiate the Beta Project to: benefit the district, and with dissemination of the results, to benefit all schools and the community.
 
Present Behavioral Health Programs - Marginalized Management & Inadequate Results
Local, State, and community resources, and the US DOE, HHS/SAMHSA and DOJ have made grants to schools of over one billon dollars in recent years in attempts to find solutions to the complex problem of problem behaviors in schools. An authority and leading research group at UCLA, The Center For Mental Health in Schools, Mental Health in Schools: An Overview, quotes: “Diverse school and community resources are attempting to address complex, multifaceted, and psychosocial and mental health concerns in highly fragmented and marginalized ways*. This has led to redundancy, inappropriate competition and inadequate results*”.  (Comment by SSSMS: ways* and results* are about management methods* and outcomes*).
 
The Need for Better Behavioral Health Program Management and Data Support
Insight into the inadequate results of behavioral, mental health programs in schools is provided by the 2005 SAMHSA Survey of 83,000 schools: School Mental Health Services in The United States‘02-’03. The report presented findings for the need of data support for programs that provided services for such incidents that ranged from social, emotional and adjustment problems,       anxiety, aggression and disruptive behavior, gang activity, suicidal behavior, to violence, and the need for data support to guide program officials regarding effective use of resources for these programs. The SAMHSA Report quotes:                                             
 
“Research Needed…to guide school officials regarding the most effective combinations of prevention and intervention services for their schools...only one half of schools collect data on mental health and only one third of those schools collect data on units …(limited to types of services, not intensity, duration, or effectiveness)… of service…”(DHHS No. SMA 05-4068, 2005)
 
Thus, 16% collect limited data, thus the system is handicapped by marginalized management, data support and outcomes evaluation methods. Other data problems persist: “One third of districts reported lack of administrative capacity to bill third-party payers. 

SSSMS-An Effective Management & Data Support System to Drive Program Improvements
Most student problem behavioral management packages that are offered for sale are limited to only a small percentage of behavioral data such as detention and attendance; and/or data is presented in terms of subjective opinions, not statistics, which is burdensome and often counterproductive. Also, the data is not formatted or interfaced with any method or sequential links to facilitate evaluation of program processes and program outcomes.
 
Another, major difference of SSSMS in relation to other programs is that the system contains the names and IDs of all students, and tracks the individual, and the incident and where referrals are made, their outcomes. The SSSMS uses the SAMHSA list of Behavioral Health Problem Categories that list social, family problems, anxiety, depression, etc, and is broader in this respect, whereas most other student management programs omit this critical group of behavioral incidents and track only office detentions, and/or aggregate student conduct code offences. A complete spectrum of behavioral incidents, that includes early indicators, is required to effectively manage prevention and early intervention practices, of which the SAMHSA Problem Category list provides.
 
What is needed is a management technique and data support system that is practical and effective. There is precedent. For-profit industries, world wide, have successfully employed Continuous Process Improvement (CPI), Quality Improvement Programs, and ISO 9000 techniques, of which, due to the non-profit character of education, and other services in the social sector, there has been a dearth of development of these techniques. These techniques have improved complex production processes and the bottom line for these businesses. These same, proven, CPI and ISO 9000 techniques; viz., setting goals & objectives, and reconciling standardized data of program/activities processes and outcomes to the goals & objectives; have been adapted to the SSSMS, and have application for School-Based Management Teams. With SSSMS, stakeholders easily acquire, organize, file, report, evaluate and disseminate data and gain consensus for actions, which drives the improvement process.

The SSSMS manuals provide procedures and guidelines for the following:

Implementation Steps Statement of and Restatement/Understanding Program Goals and Objectives Tasks, Responsibilities and Timetables Analyses and Evaluations of Program Processes and Outcomes Recommendations of Actions and Measures to Fill The Gaps of Objectives and Results Communications/ Newsletters Dissemination of Reports

Capability to Leverage Early Intervention Program Support.
SSSMS provides schools with the capability to produce program outcome & process reports based upon scientific data, essential to the ability to leverage support for prevention and early interventions programs. The ultimate and attainable object is to increase early intervention and prevention programs and reduce dependence upon intensive treatment programs. Although 6.1 million children are eligible for Medicaid and SCHIP services, they are not covered; however President Obama is working to fix this. With billions of Federal dollars earmarked in bills to expand eligibility and parity for behavioral, mental health services, it is imperative that schools expand collaborative care efforts with the community and the private sector to effectively impact legislative policies and funding for, and maximize coverage for child prevention and early intervention programs.