2.6 Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT)

The Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) is a group of school officials who meet weekly to collect and review concerning information about at-risk campus community members and develop plans to assist them.

Mission

The BIT is a singular team committed to a proactive, multidisciplinary, coordinated, and objective approach to responding to incidents along the spectrum of risk. To do this, the BIT educates the community on the value of submitting referrals that allow for early intervention as well as violence risk assessment. Every referral received by the BIT is assessed for risk and then the appropriate intervention is initiated based on the risk level. This allows the team to fully support individual wellbeing and success while maintaining the paramount responsibility of supporting a safe environment.

Scope

The team addresses behavior that occurs on and off campus for current students. The team also attends to behaviors that have a connection to the campus for former students, visitors, parents, or others related to the campus community. Off-campus behavior is assessed if it is disruptive, problematic, or concerning. This administrative regulation does not apply to employee behavior. Concerning employee behaviors are referred and addressed through Human Resources and appropriate college leadership. 

Membership

At its core, the BIT must consist of the Dean of Students or Associate Dean of Students, the Conduct Manager, the Counseling Chair (or the Counseling faculty designee), the Disability Resources and Services Director, and the College Sergeant. The chair of the team must be a Dean of Students or Associate Dean of Students, have institutional authority to head the team, have working knowledge of the team’s cases, be familiar with relevant education and disability law and have the ability to assess team and individual BIT member performance via formal or informal supervision. Campuses that have Conduct Managers may allow these positions to co-chair the BIT in conjunction with the dean. Membership is based on training and the ability to make real time decisions for their functional areas. Members of the BIT have regular contact with community members, which helps them in their assessment and deployment of interventions.

Authority

The Office of the Provost is responsible for this BIT administrative regulation, related procedure  and framework as applied across the Maricopa Community Colleges District, and authorizes the teams as identified in this administrative regulation to engage in behavioral intervention (gather data, assess risk, and deploy interventions). The BIT conducts its work in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), other applicable laws, and/or institutional policy.

Function

In alignment with research and best practice, the BIT follows a three-phase process to effectively mitigate risk and aid the overall safety goals of the institution.

1. Gather Data
   a) Informs the institution community on indicators of distress, crisis, and threat.
   b) Maintains a centralized process for submitting referrals which is easily accessible and allows any member of the community to submit a referral, even anonymously.
   c) Establishes a protocol for regularly reviewing referrals, and convenes the core team immediately for urgent matters that require immediate intervention
2. Assess Risk
   a) Assesses a range of behaviors and concerns along the spectrum of risk.
   b) Applies the NABITA Risk Rubric, an evidence-based, objective risk rubric to assess every case referred to the team.
   c) Uses objective indicators of risk to mitigate assumptions, provide consistency and objectivity, and respond with appropriate interventions.
3. Deploy Interventions
   1. Defines interventions for each risk level based on the BIT’s objective risk rubric and the individual’s specific needs.
      1. When/If an individual crosses the BIT’s established threshold on the team’s objective assessment tool (e.g., elevated on the NABITA Risk Rubric), the BIT may mandate an assessment to further evaluate the individual and the circumstances surrounding the referral to inform its interventions. A student’s failure to engage in mandated assessments will be referred to the Conduct Process in accordance with A.R. 2.5.2.
   2. Does not require compliance with identified interventions (except when mandated assessments are necessary).
   3. Does not issue disciplinary sanctions, restrict enrollment or access. All such measures shall be addressed under the Student Code of Conduct (A.R. 2.5.2).
   4. Adjusts interventions as more information is gathered and reassesses risk as the case is managed.

In some instances, the BIT will operate with limited available information. The BIT will exercise due diligence to balance the needs of individuals with the safety of the community.

Reference

The MCCCD BIT Manual (Guidelines) is incorporated into this administrative regulation by reference. Please refer to S-21 MCCCD BIT Guidelines.