As I wrote about in a recent blog post, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) strategies and our Nonviolent Crisis Intervention^® training program are very closely related. Though a Certified Instructor's primary role is to teach Nonviolent Crisis Intervention^® content, Instructors whose organizations support the PBIS framework tell us that by integrating Nonviolent Crisis Intervention^® training into PBIS strategies, positive change is more likely to occur.

Given the link in the frameworks, it is interesting to note that many states reference PBIS strategies in their current restraint and seclusion legislation. An evaluation brief recently published by the Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports examined this topic.

The organization surveyed all of the state departments of education in the country to identify which states had restraint and seclusion legislation in place or currently in progress. Based on that knowledge, they reviewed those regulations to see if there were mentions of school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) within the text.

What did the brief reveal? It showed that of the 36 states with seclusion or restraint legislation in place (or in progress), 25 referred to SWPBS and of those 15 with no legislation, 7 still mentioned SWPBS. SWPBS training was also provided in some states. This data demonstrates the link between PBIS and reduction of seclusion and restraint.

At CPI, we continue to focus on the resonance between PBIS and Nonviolent Crisis Intervention^® training and have developed two new PBIS resources.

First, we have a new PBIS blog, the PBIS Post: A Positive Behavioral Support Blog, written by Professional Staff Instructors Susan Keith and Pam Sikorski. This blog examines the relationship between PBIS and our Nonviolent Crisis Intervention^® training program. In addition, for Instructors who integrate PBIS into their programs, we've developed a specialized Nonviolent Crisis Intervention^® Participant Workbook that can be used for initial or formal refreshers and help Certified Instructors guide staff to making positive connections between the two frameworks. This new workbook will be available in September.

More Resources
Read more about the relationship between PBIS and Nonviolent Crisis Intervention^® training.