Student Multi-Agency Resource Team (S.M.A.R.T.): Lessons Learned From the Portland Pilot.

This report documents the experience of the Student Multi-Agency Resource Team (SMART), an emerging school and community-based crisis intervention resource initiated in the public school district in Portland, Maine in 2001. The overarching goal of the SMART is to ensure that students with emotional and behavioral disturbances receive services in the least restrictive setting and that services are coordinated across all life domains. This report discusses the lessons learned during the early development and implementation of the Portland SMART and it incorporates strategies and methods used in similar initiatives in other states. The feedback we gathered from parents, community-based providers, and school personnel who participated in the SMART process form the basis of the lessons learned findings. We hope this report will benefit other schools and community organizations interested in initiating or expanding a similar family-centered resource in Maine. In addition to exploring the benefits and barriers to implementing a SMART process, the report includes practical guides, checklists, brochures, and evaluation forms that may be adapted by schools or organizations wishing to incorporate them into their programs.