Background: In 2016, the Legislature enacted a law requiring public schools to conduct annual screenings of students for substance use disorder (An Act Relative To Substance Use, Treatment, Education And Prevention). The law requires that schools use a verbal screening tool and administer the screening to students in two grade levels, with the choice of grades based on recommendations made by the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). The first statewide screening took place during the 2017-2018 school year. This report summarizes the findings from that first screening.
Findings: Verbal screenings for alcohol and substance use can be successfully administered on a large scale in the school setting by using trained school staff.
- Verbal screenings were administered to 93,983 students during the 2017-2018 school year.
- Referrals for counseling, treatment or further assessment were given to 1,188 students, or 1.3% of students screened.
- For students at high risk, 60.2% were referred for further assessment and counseling, and almost all of those not referred were given a brief intervention.
- Despite some limitations, the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral for Treatment (SBIRT) model administered in school appears to be a useful way to identify students at risk for alcohol and substance use and provide them with needed resources and referrals.