Preschoolers Are Being Expelled at an Alarming Rate. This Program Makes a Difference.

As surprising as it may seem, research shows that preschoolers are expelled at more than three times the rate of children in grades K-12. Children expelled from early childhood programs often struggle to develop social-emotional skills, leading to later problems at school, future expulsions and higher rates of incarceration later in life.

To help reduce preschool expulsion rates, Nationwide Children’s Hospital manages an Ohio-wide hotline that connects preschool teachers and childcare providers to the on-site support they need to prevent children with challenging behaviors from being expelled.

The Ohio Preschool Expulsion Prevention Partnership (OPEPP) is a free program that works to reduce the rate of expulsions in preschool-age children by providing support, training and other resources to preschool teachers or child care providers who are struggling to manage disruptive behaviors.

Nationwide Children’s manages the partnership’s hotline. Any licensed preschool or family childcare provider can call, request support from an early childhood mental health consultant and get an on-site visit anywhere in Ohio within 48 to 72 hours.

The consultant observes the classroom and provides evidence-based tools and resources to help providers manage challenging behaviors and build protective factors that promote the health and well-being of the children in their classrooms.

Consultants might help redesign the physical setting of the classroom, adjust the daily routine, make changes to the curriculum or provide training on understanding children's behaviors. When appropriate, consultants can discuss a potential referral when the child has significant needs that cannot be managed in a typical classroom.

“Research shows that when teachers and caregivers have access to a consultant, the number of kids that are expelled goes down significantly,” said Kristopher West, PhD, a clinical psychologist and the clinical manager for Early Childhood Mental Health at Nationwide Children’s.

The partnership was launched in April 2016 as part of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services’ multipronged effort to support educators and caregivers of young children. More than 100 early childhood mental health consultants are available throughout all of Ohio’s 88 counties. When a teacher calls the hotline, Nationwide Children connects them to the partner in their county. The hospital’s own consultants respond to sites within a 16-county area in central Ohio.

Children expelled from preschool can often develop mental health concerns and learning disabilities, leading to future academic difficulty.

“These are kids in the earliest phases of their development,” said West. “Any impact in areas that promote normal development puts children at greater risk for future academic failure.”

The consultations also seek to address any implicit bias that can place some students at risk for higher rates of expulsion. Boys of color are disproportionately expelled from early childhood programs.

“If we're not talking about it, then we're not helping directly address the disproportionality that's happening,” said West.

These on-site interventions also have a positive downstream effect.

“We're not just impacting that classroom,” said West. “We are impacting all of the teacher’s future classrooms as well.”

Teachers who receive a consultation often help make other early childcare workers aware that they can access this resource as well.

As the state moves out of the pandemic, West says the partnership will focus on connecting with early childhood programs to ensure they know this free resource continues to be available.

“Our desire is to reach as many classrooms and teachers as possible, let them know about this resource and encourage them to call,” said West.