How Software Makes Group Events Easier for Providers

Group events in special education can be a valuable tool for helping students develop essential skills, build relationships, and achieve academic success. With staffing shortages, the idea of one-on-one services for every service type for every student isn’t always feasible.

Of course, universal screenings can also fit into the group event category. When you conduct universal screenings, you can ensure that each student’s unique needs are acknowledged. Then you can begin the important work of offering services, tracking progress, and reporting for state and federal compliance.

And then there are the events themselves – the psychological services, physical therapy, and even health education – that your district conducts and may be able to claim under the Free Care Act. In order to plan, conduct, and claim for these services, you need a standardized, compliant (and ideally, fast) way to make it happen.

Today we’re talking about group events: why they matter, what can make them more challenging, which strategies you can employ in your district to make them easier (and more effective), and best practices you can take back to your team.

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What are Group Events?

Before we dive into why group events matter and how you can improve your processes for them, let’s go over what they are with a few examples, ranging from relatively standard to new-to-K-12.

Social Skills Groups

Social skills groups are designed to teach students how to interact effectively with their peers. These groups can focus on various skills, such as making eye contact, taking turns, and understanding nonverbal cues. The groups may involve role-playing, discussion, and games.

Sensory Integration Groups

Sensory integration groups are designed to help students who struggle with sensory processing issues. These groups provide opportunities for students to engage in sensory experiences that can help them regulate their sensory systems. Activities may include playing with different textures, exploring sensory bins, and engaging in movement activities.

Reading Groups

Reading groups are designed to help students improve their literacy skills. These groups can be tailored to student’s individual needs and can focus on topics such as phonics, fluency, and comprehension. The groups may involve reading aloud, group discussions, and writing activities.

Art Therapy Groups

Art therapy groups are designed to help students express themselves through art. These groups may be led by a licensed art therapist and may involve a range of art materials and techniques. The groups can help students manage their emotions, develop self-awareness, and build self-esteem.

Social-Emotional Learning Groups

Social-emotional learning groups are designed to help students develop skills such as empathy, self-awareness, and responsible decision-making. The groups may involve discussions, role-playing, and problem-solving activities.

Life Skills Groups

Life skills groups are designed to teach students practical skills they can use in their daily lives, such as cooking, cleaning, and budgeting. The groups can help students develop independence and self-sufficiency.

Depending on your state, you may also find it helpful to know which types of group events you could claim under the Free Care Act. In order to qualify, the services must be medically necessary, and students must be Medicaid-eligible.

Speech and Language Therapy

Speech and language therapy can be provided in a group setting, where students work on specific communication goals, such as articulation, language development, and social communication.

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy can be provided in a group setting, where students work on fine motor skills, sensory processing, and activities of daily living.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy can be provided in a group setting, where students work on gross motor skills, coordination, and balance.

Psychological Services

Psychological services can be provided in a group setting, where students work on social skills, emotional regulation, and behavior management.

Vision and Hearing Screenings

Schools may offer vision and hearing screenings in a group setting, where multiple students can be assessed at once.

Health Education

Health education can be provided in a group setting, where students learn about topics such as nutrition, hygiene, and sexual health.

Finding Your Why: 4 Reasons to Track Group Events

With so many different types of group events, you might already have thoughts on why tracking group events for special services is so important.

This is likely obvious, but… it's legally required. In order to maintain compliance and put your district in the best possible position for future funding, it's critical to document services properly.
Staffing! Without a strong understanding of the services happening across your district, you're inserting a lot of guesswork into your resource allocation process. Imagine planning for next year with a solid foundation of historical data that can point you in the right direction fast.
Communication. When every provider has their own method for documentation, it can make consistency of care harder to achieve. Additionally, each provider might have their own subjective descriptors for a particular behavior. It's great for providers to bring their own style to sessions, but standardization for documentation is not only helpful, it's also more equitable for students.
More confident decisions backed up by data. You or your providers have likely encountered tough conversations with parents. Whether the topic is as simple as when a service was delivered or a more nuanced discussion around progress, data can help clarify everything.

You might notice that standardization and compliance go hand in hand. One key factor here is that without specialized software designed with K-12 service tracking in mind, it is extremely hard to get this right. Without a product that has required fields for providers, there's no cure-all for getting providers to record all of the information you'll need later on for state reporting. Their top concern should be their students, not trying to remember all of the information they'll need to re-enter into a spreadsheet later.

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District Spotlight Chesterfield County Public Schools

Then:

Without a central repository to house all service provider records, service providers were left to maintain their own disparate systems and records to document their services. This left Chesterfield in a situation where it was difficult, if not impossible, to access the data and records to demonstrate the services students were receiving as well as the impact of those services.

Now:

“We can stand on a firm foundation of data. I think it’s helped build trust with our IEP teams that we’re not just willy-nilly dismissing or changing services or changing goals. We have the data, we can show you, we can prove it to you.”

– Amy Barnett, Medicaid Coordinator

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Working in education has never been without its challenges, and right now is no different. So if you’ve ever silently thought it can’t just be us… you’re right. Here are some of the challenges that nearly every district has faced or is facing right now for service tracking:

Disparate data sources. Whether you’re dealing with disparate data sources across your district or even within individual campuses, it can feel incredibly overwhelming to know where to begin when you’re dealing with information silos.
Unique processes for every provider, school, and district…there are so many times when being unique is a wonderful thing. Federally and state-mandated documentation is not one of them. And when you onboard a new provider in your district, it can feel more overwhelming for them not to have one reliable process to follow.
Limited ability and capacity for data analysis. Have you ever thought about what you could accomplish if you just had one week to focus? For many administrators, it’s already hard to find time to do the things you have to do for state reporting, for instance. So if your service tracking data lives in different places, analyzing your data is not only difficult, it’s basically impossible.

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5 Steps to Take to Improve Service Tracking for Group Events

These five steps could be considered your action plan, or a bit of check list.

Establish clear policies and procedures: this is the foundation you're going to build everything off of. Don't simply throw out what everyone has been doing. Ask your providers what's working well, and what they think could be better.
Get the right systems in place (technology is your friend) to add your next layer after your foundation. A comprehensive service tracking system can help you tackle many of the challenges you're currently facing. Of course, the change management related to new tool implementation is never going to be easy, but if you keep your end goals in mind, your vendor will work alongside you to make it as pain-free as possible. Once you start having all your data collection and reporting happen in one system, it will all be worth it.
Training and support for staff and providers is akin to unlocking the door to your new house if you're still following our house foundation metaphor. Without training and continued support, it's like you're keeping everyone locked out of that beautiful new house. Keep in mind that you might have spent weeks researching processes and systems, and for your staff and providers, any changes or updates are completely new to them. Come up with a training plan, and share out when you'll be covering which pieces of information. Don't forget that what often works for your students can work for adults, too. Provide options for auditory, visual, and experiential learning.
Build partnerships with community organizations and service providers. This process will take time, but community organizations can be a huge help if you're struggling with funding new positions.
Encourage family involvement where appropriate. Proactive communication can help everyone avoid surprises and can make everyone feel more comfortable. When you have readily available data that's easy to report out, it can make conversations with families much easier, too.

How Frontline Can Help

Frontline’s service tracking tool can be invaluable for special education providers, particularly when used in conjunction with best practices for group events. It takes all the guesswork out of compliance. It also standardizes documentation, enhancing equity for all students. And it removes the need to re-enter data, saving time.

Frontline’s software was purpose-built to:

Enable providers to collect data quickly and efficiently, saving time and reducing errors.
Take the guesswork out of compliance with federal and state regulations, including Medicaid and IDEA requirements.
Monitor and adjust services in real-time, ensuring that students receive the appropriate support and accommodations.
Evaluate the success of group events using data, making it easier to back up ideas for future changes and adjustments to improve future services.

Ready? You’ve got this! We’re here if you need us.

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