California Student Assistance Program (SAP) Resource Center

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What is a SAP?

Why are SAPs needed?

Are SAPs effective?

FAQ's

SAP Models

Cost to Operate a SAP

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Thank you for visiting the California Student Assistance Program (SAP) Resource Center. The purpose of this site is to emphasize the importance and need for SAPs in California school environments and to provide resources for school officials interested in promoting and implementing the use of SAPs to "support student achievement".

What is SAP?

Student Assistance Programs (SAPs) are a school-based approach to providing focused services to students needing interventions for substance abuse, mental health, academic, emotional, or social issues. They are a process-not a curriculum or treatment center-that connects education, programs, and services within and across school and community systems to create a network of supports to help students. As a process, SAPs identify troubled students, assess students' needs, and provide them with support and referral to appropriate resources. The overarching goal of SAPs is to remove barriers to education so that a student may achieve academically.

Effectiveness of SAPs

The broad goals of Student Assistance Programs are to reduce affiliated students' behavioral and disciplinary violations and substance use habits, while improving school attendance and academic performance through the referral to appropriate services. Although SAPs proliferated across the nation in the 1980's and were adopted by individual schools, districts, and entire states, few evaluations documenting the results of these programs were ever published. Nevertheless, evaluations of programs that fit a general model of SAP-type programs can be used to provide empirical, if not rigorous, evidence concerning the effi cacy of these models in achieving these outcomes for students served. The following outcomes were found for students served by SAP-type programs.

This website was developed by the Governor's Prevention Advisory Council's High Rate Underage User workgroup under the leadership of Meredith Rolfe, Administrator of the California Department of Education Safe and Healthy Kids Program Office.

The California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs' Technical Assistance and Training Contractor, CARS, through its Community Prevention Initiative contract, gave support in developing the content and format of this website.

The following pages are currently under construction, but soon you will be able to access:

What's New!

Link into "what's new" on our web site, including latest updates, information, and announcements on all things SAP-related.

Events & Trainings

Find out about local, regional, and national training opportunities related to SAPs and other areas of topical interest to SAP professionals.

Directory of SAPs

Visit our listing of well-established and highly functioning Student Assistance Programs from around the stateis there one in your area?

SAP Bulletins

Learn more about specific subject areas important to school and youth-serving personnel, and how they relate to SAPs.

Please contact us with any site-specific suggestions, or requests for content to appear on this web site.