Date of Conferral

8-16-2024

Date of Award

August 2024

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Derek Schroll

Abstract

Parent refusal of Student Assistance Program (SAP) referrals limits their child’s access to critical behavioral and mental support services offered by the school district, which may put the child at risk academically, socially, and emotionally. In a county in an eastern state, the problem that was addressed in this study was that students were not receiving the recommended professional services through the SAP. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore school counselors’ perspectives about practices being used to educate and encourage parent involvement in SAP referrals. Using Epstein’s school–family–community partnership model as the conceptual framework, the perspectives and recommendations of school counselors were explored regarding parent education and involvement in the SAP referral process at the study site. Data were collected from 11 school counselors from the study county using semistructured interviews. Data were analyzed using content analysis employing both a priori and open coding. Themes emerged on (a) strategies for parent communication, (b) strategies for parent involvement, (c) challenges regarding parent education and involvement, and (d) recommendations for strengthening parent education and involvement in SAP. The resulting project, a white paper with recommendations, was created to inform stakeholders of the study findings and propose actions for consideration. This study may support positive social change by strengthening stakeholders’ understanding of strategies to increase parent education and involvement in the SAP referral process. Subsequently, this may increase SAP referral acceptances and student access to needed services, leading to improved academic, mental health, and behavioral outcomes for students.

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