District program presents restorative brief-intervention model, warns core grants will sunset in 2026
Loading...
Summary
INSPIRE presenters described a four-session, evidence-based brief-intervention program used as an alternative to suspension, outlined prevention and youth-leadership work, and said primary grant funding is sunsetting in 2026; presenters asked the board to consider local funding and agreed to provide budget estimates on request.
Mary Baer, director of the INSPIRE program at the Daly City Youth Health Center, and Miguel (program coordinator) presented an overview of the district’s prevention and intervention work in a board meeting on Oct. 25, 2025.
Baer and Miguel said INSPIRE operates a four-session, evidence-based brief-intervention program (using the Teen Intervene curriculum) as an alternative to suspension for students caught with substances or paraphernalia on campus. "We guide students through a curriculum called Teen Intervene. It is evidence based," Miguel told the board. He said the program emphasizes motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy skills and stages-of-change theory.
The presenters described three referral pathways into brief intervention: discipline referrals (alternative to suspension), staff/wellness referrals, and parent referrals. Students receive a pre-session and then four 30–45 minute sessions pulled from class; staff log contacts in Synergy under an INSPIRE tab and share completion data with school administration. Baer said the district uses pre/post surveys to measure readiness to change, attitudes about substance use and coping skills.
INSPIRE is structured as combined services: brief intervention, health education (Stanford ReachLabs materials), youth leadership (Be The Change coalition at Oceana High School) and policy advocacy (retail tobacco/alcohol work, overdose awareness and social-host ordinances). Baer said the program also places public-health and social-work interns and runs a BTC alumni internship pipeline so former students can return as facilitators.
Funding, capacity and sustainability were key topics. Baer and Miguel said primary prevention funding comes from Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, a Prop 1 (formerly MHSA) stream that pays for brief intervention and that particular Prop 1 funding is sunsetting in 2026. They also listed a federal STOP grant, an opioid-overdose prevention grant and other smaller grants; they said they have applied for an Elevate Youth grant and are exploring a Drug Medi-Cal provider pathway through the Daly City Youth Health Center as a longer-term option.
"Our funding is sunsetting this coming year," Baer said, and asked the board to consider district support if grant renewals fail. In response, trustees asked for budget and staffing details. Miguel said the program is currently serving about 50 students annually and that expanding Be The Change (BTC) to additional campuses would require at least one additional full-time staff member (a health educator). "If we're gonna do it at one campus, we need to do them at all the campuses. So we need one more full-time person," Miguel said.
Board members praised the program’s student engagement and asked staff to provide more specific budget and capacity estimates. Baer said program staff would provide budget documents and further detail to the board: "We can actually send that to you so you can take a look at it later," she said.
No formal board action was taken on funding at this meeting.
The presenters left the board with an offer to pursue Drug Medi-Cal certification at the Daly City Youth Health Center, which they said would allow more intensive services for students who need ongoing treatment beyond the brief-intervention model.
