Adolescent Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (ASBIRT)

Adolescent SBIRT – Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment

This half-day seminar, offered by the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council's Field Services Training Division, introduces patrol officers—particularly School Resource Officers (SROs)—to an evidence-based public health framework for addressing substance use among adolescents.

The training takes place on Monday, December 7, 2026, from 12:00 PM to 4:00 P.M. at the Connecticut Police Academy, 285 Preston Avenue, Meriden, Connecticut 06450. Instruction is delivered by staff from the Wheeler Clinic Prevention Wellness and Recovery Division, Plainville office. There is no tuition for this course.

A-SBIRT represents a comprehensive, integrated approach designed to deliver early intervention and treatment services to adolescents struggling with substance use disorders or at risk of developing them. The framework recognizes that primary care centers, hospital emergency departments, trauma centers, and community settings—including schools—provide critical opportunities to identify at-risk youth before more serious consequences develop.

The program implements a three-part public health model targeting adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old across diverse settings such as health centers, hospital systems, HMOs, PPOs, Federally Qualified Health Centers, behavioral health centers, pediatric providers, and children's hospitals. The curriculum emphasizes screening for underage drinking, opioid consumption, and other substance use.

The framework operates through three interconnected components: Screening quickly evaluates substance use severity and determines the appropriate treatment level; Brief Intervention enhances understanding and awareness of substance use patterns while strengthening motivation for behavioral change; and Referral to Treatment connects individuals identified as needing specialized care with appropriate specialty services.

Registration is limited to fifty attendees. Interested participants must complete a registration form through the Acadis portal by Monday, November 16, 2026. For questions, contact the Field Services Training Division at 203-427-2625 or post.fieldservices@ct.gov. Participants should arrange their own lunch at local restaurants. The uniform Dress Code outlined in POST General Notice 23-02 applies to all in-service training.

Training Credit Hours

• Area 407 Substance Abuse Issues (4 hours)