[author: Linda Abbott, L.M.H.C.]*
The updated NABITA Industry Standards for Behavioral Intervention Teams offer proactive guidance to BITs, enabling them to develop highly effective approaches for promoting safety and preventing harm on college campuses. Standards 4 and 5 form the bedrock of a BIT or a CARE team, which is vital in ensuring the team’s overall effectiveness.
Standard 4. Team Leadership: The team chair brings the team together and keeps discussions productive and focused while maintaining a long-term view of team professional development and education.
BITs are crucial in promoting campus safety, supporting students, and addressing behavioral concerns along a full spectrum of risks. For BITs to be successful, it is essential to establish effective leadership and a well-structured membership framework.
The BIT chair is often the Dean of Students (or a designee), the Vice President for Student Affairs (or a designee), or a case manager. This individual must possess institutional authority, a working knowledge of the team’s cases, and an understanding of relevant education or disability laws. They should also have sufficient time to dedicate to the role. Furthermore, to ensure transparency and effective decision-making within the team, it is essential that the chair does not have conflicting roles or limitations on information sharing.
As the team leader, the chair fosters collaboration among team members and facilitates productive discussions. They should have a long-term vision for the team’s development and education and regularly assess their and individual members’ performance. This can be achieved through formal or informal supervision, including regular meetings with team members.
Additionally, the BIT chair supports the team’s operational and process-driven functions by:
- Updating policy and procedure manuals
- Coordinating team training sessions
- Setting comprehensive meeting agendas
- Ensuring adherence to team protocols
- Collecting and analyzing relevant data
- Leading risk assessment initiatives
- Assessing team effectiveness
- Orchestrating the deployment of interventions
These responsibilities contribute to the smooth functioning of the team and enhance its overall efficiency and effectiveness.
Practical tip: NABITA recommends selecting a single chair for the team. If the team uses a co-chair model, it can be unclear who has the decision-making authority for the BIT. Choose one person who can lead the team and lead the team well. You can also use a designee if a chair cannot attend a meeting.
Standard 5. Team Membership: The team is comprised of at least five, but no more than ten, designated school officials.
When considering BIT membership, the team’s composition plays a critical role in determining its effectiveness. Typically, teams consist of five to ten designated school officials, each contributing a unique and valuable role to the team. NABITA suggests classifying team membership into four levels based on meeting attendance and access to BIT records: the core, inner circle, middle circle, and outer circle. The core and inner circle members meet regularly and comprise the primary five to ten members.
The core members attend every meeting and have full access to the BIT records database. Typically, the core team includes the Dean of Students (or a designee), a mental health care employee, a student conduct staff member, and a campus security or law enforcement representative. Each core member should designate a trained backup member. This deliberate redundancy ensures that if a core member is absent, a qualified backup is ready to step in and maintain the team’s effectiveness and continuity of operations. The availability of a backup member is what sets core members apart from the other levels.
Like the core, inner circle members are present at every meeting and possess full access to the BIT records database. The main difference between core and inner circle is that inner circle members do not have a trained backup who attends the meeting in their absence, but they often have a proxy who can step in when needed. The inner circle represents a constituency or function significant to the team and the community. For instance, inner circle members may come from the offices of disability support services, athletics, and residence life if they represent a significant portion of the student population or are critical to reporting.
In addition to the core and inner circle, BITs also encompass a middle circle that operates on an as-needed basis. Members of the middle circle join meetings on a case-by-case basis, providing their expertise on specific individuals, situations, behaviors, or constituency groups that other team members may not adequately represent. Often, middle circle members have limited or no access to the BIT records database. Examples of middle circle members may include a Title IX representative or a staff member from health services.
The outer circle is the final group with a supporting role in BIT operations. Outer circle members may provide outreach to referred parties or additional information about a referral. While they may not attend meetings or have database access by default, their role is nonetheless crucial to the overall function of the team. For example, the outer circle may consist of faculty members who refer students to the BIT and offer additional information or support if they have a pre-existing relationship with the student. These individuals will be kept informed as needed and appropriate.
BITs should actively include team members who represent the diverse identities of the campus community to reduce biases, foster cultural competence, and enhance the quality of the team’s decision-making.
Members should prioritize meetings by reviewing agendas in advance and being prepared to participate. To solidify their commitment, team members’ job descriptions should explicitly outline their responsibilities as official members of the BIT. These descriptions also account for the time necessary to serve effectively on the team.
Successful BITs rely on both solid leadership and well-structured team membership. By adhering to these standards, educational institutions create a robust framework for BITs that benefits the entire campus community. These teams become initiative-taking forces in addressing behavioral concerns, promoting campus safety, and providing essential support to students in need.
* Consultant, TNG Consulting, LLC
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