Following are the most important principles that local TeenScreen Schools and Communities programs must reflect in their screening plans and practices.

Screening must always be voluntary.

• Parent consent and youth assent are required for participation in local TeenScreen Schools and Communities programs.
• TeenScreen requires the use of active, written consent (“active consent”) for school-based sites and strongly recommends it as a best practice for other settings.
• Screening participants must be given the right to refuse to answer any questions they don’t want to answer.
  

Approval to implement a screening program must be obtained from appropriate organizational leadership.

• Written approval must be obtained from the principal(s) of the school(s) in which TeenScreen will be implemented.
• Written approval must be obtained from the executive director of community-based organizations conducting screening.
  

All screening staff and volunteers must be qualified and trained.

• Screening staff must be thoroughly trained in how to administer, score, and interpret the screening questionnaires, as well as in TeenScreen’s Requirements and Best Practice Guidelines.
• Participants who score positive on the screening questionnaire must be interviewed by a trained and qualified mental health professional to determine if further evaluation is needed.
  

Confidentiality must be protected.

• Screening must be conducted in a private environment in order to maintain participants’ confidentiality.
• All screening records must contain ID numbers instead of names, be kept in locked file cabinets, and not be entered into any student’s academic record.
• Teachers and school administrators may not conduct any part of the screening or be privy to the screening results of any participant without written parent consent.
  

Youth identified through the screening as needing further evaluation must be offered a referral to an appropriate healthcare service provider.

• Relationships with a diverse group of local mental health and healthcare providers must be made to accommodate the youth who will be identified through the screening as needing further evaluation.

Parents of identified youth must be informed of the screening results and referral recommendations, and provided assistance with securing an appointment with a qualified mental health professional for further evaluation.

• Parents must be notified within 24 hours if a referral for further evaluation is indicated for a participant.
• All instances of current suicide ideation and all past suicide attempts must always be shared with parents.
• Recommendations for specific courses of treatment cannot be offered. All possible treatment decisions are made by families in close consultation with the healthcare professional conducting the post-screening evaluation. Treatment recommendations are beyond the scope of TeenScreen.