Mental Health Playlist Investing

MENTAL HEALTH - InVESTING

Professional Development > Learning Paths > School Mental Health Readiness

According to the literature, 3.8 million U.S. children have unmet mental health needs. Of children with an identified mental health need, only a little bit over half, 51% get the mental health support they need. Of those students, 58% get that help in schools. There is also a shortage of mental health providers, and many barriers to people finding linguistically and culturally appropriate services on top of other barriers that we know exist in school communities. For many students, schools are the first and only setting in which they receive behavioral health supports. This is why this topic is so critical for schools and districts.

The resources below are recommended for schools or districts starting in this work. Your school or district may be exploring this work and wondering where to begin. You are ready for the “investing” stage of the Mental Health Pillar if you and your teams understand best practices for comprehensive school mental health systems, have high functioning behavioral health teams, and have confidence in your approach to Tier 1. You are looking for opportunities to build Tier 2 and Tier 3 services for specific needs in your community.

Print a list of these resources ?

The School Mental Health Quality Assessment is designed for schools to assess the comprehensiveness of the school mental health system, and identify priority areas for improvement. The assessment covers seven domains: 1) Teaming; 2) Needs Assessment and Resource Mapping; 3) Mental Health Screening; 4) Mental Health Promotion – Tier 1; 5) Early Intervention and Treatment – Tier 2 & 3; 6) Funding and Sustainability; and 7) Impact. The assessment is best done as a team that has broad and diverse participation to ensure meaningful assessment, successful planning, and implementation. There is also a version that can be used at the district level.

Add info about where/how to access assessment

This course explores the evidence-based Tier 2 trauma interventions Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) and Bounce Back, helping you determine if they fit your students’ needs. You’ll learn about selection criteria, expectations, and available supports for clinicians who may attend future training in these interventions. The session also covers best practices for forming groups and building readiness for Tier 2 trauma interventions. By reflecting on these strategies, you’ll be equipped to effectively implement trauma-informed practices in your school or district.

This 75-minute webinar, recorded on February 15, 2024, covers trauma-informed and culturally responsive mental health screening practices for district and school administrators, behavioral health professionals, and service providers. Learn to create a screening plan, assess your progress, and address barriers with effective strategies. Gain practical tools to support student mental health effectively.

This action guide was designed for school administrators in kindergarten through 12th grade schools (K-12), including principals and leaders of school-based student support teams, to identify evidence-based strategies, approaches, and practices that can positively influence students’ mental health. This action guide is based on research about school-based comprehensive mental health promotion programming and intervention services that contribute to improved student mental health. It was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Adolescent and School Health and RTI International.

Promoting Mental Health and Well-Being in Schools: An Action Guide for School and District Leaders – we can use a PDF of this just in case the site goes down

Screening is part of a collection of resources developed by the National Center for School Mental Health. The Quality Guides provide information to help school mental health systems advance the quality of their services and supports. This guide contains background information on school mental health screening, best practices, possible action steps, examples from the field, and resources.

Screening.pdf

Whenever possible, community suicide prevention efforts should begin with a strategic planning effort that
assesses the local context and the available resources to address the problem. Due to the nature of suicidal
behaviors, the strategic planning process should result in a comprehensive prevention approach.
When the strategic planning process determines that a school-based suicide risk screening program is needed,
the recommendations in this guide from SAMHSA should be considered in implementing that screening.

Recommendations-for-School-Based-Suicide-Prevention-Screening.pdf

The Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG), originally known as the Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines, is an evidence-based model for schools to use in conducting threat assessments in K-12 schools. This model was developed by Dr. Dewey Cornell and colleagues at the University of Virginia in 2001 and has been extensively examined through field tests and controlled studies that demonstrate its utility and effectiveness. CSTAG has been widely adopted by schools in Virginia and nationwide and was recognized as an evidence-based program by the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices in 2013. Find a manual and forms to help school and districts in this work.

The Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines | UVA School of Education and Human Development

School Mental Health Quality Guide: Early Intervention and Treatment Services and Supports (Tiers 2 and 3) is part of a collection of resources developed by the National Center for School Mental Health. The Quality Guides provide information to help school mental health systems advance the quality of their services and supports. This guide contains background information on early intervention and treatment services and supports, best practices, possible action steps, examples from the field, and resources.

Tiers-2-&-3.pdf

Universal screening has improved the physical outcomes for millions of children who get routine dental and eye exams at their school buildings each year. Screening for mental health issues in schools has become a topic of discussion for many district leaders. Will the benefits of identifying students most at-risk of physical health problems translate when those difficulties are in the mental health realm? This article explores the complexity of mental health screening.

School Mental Health Screening Part I: Benefits and Cautions of Universal Mental Health Screening | CEI

Illinois State Board of Education developed a strategic approach in 2023, which was supported by the release of a Readiness Tool to understand school districts’ capacity to implement universal mental health screening of all students in Illinois. The report is the next step to guide a phased approach to universal mental health screening of all K-12 students enrolled in Illinois school districts. Find the Landscape Scan on Mental Health Screening Practices report, Readiness Tool and School Screening Readiness report on ISBE’s website.

Mental and Behavioral Health Screening

This document lays out what a possible timeline could look like for the Universal Screening process and who might need to be involved with each step. Considerations are made for professional development and communication necessary for the transparent delivery of a Universal Screener that key collaborators support and the results in more youth being supported by appropriate interventions.

4a – Universal Screener Timeline for MV2 Final.docx – Google Docs

Classroom WISE – Well-Being Information & Strategies for Educators – is a free 3-part training package that assists K-12 educators and school staff in supporting the mental health of students in the classroom. Developed by the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network in partnership with the National Center for School Mental Health, this package offers evidence-based strategies and skills to engage and support students experiencing adversity and distress. In addition to a free online course on mental health literacy for educators and school staff, a video library and resource collection are also available.

Classroom WISE

Consider this one-page decision tree handout to reference as your school or district develops protocol around response to mental health crises.

e6fb0a6f5f209652baabff4d9f01f649.pdf we can attach the PDF

This comprehensive crisis response manual from School Health Programs Department San Francisco Unified School District can provide guidance to schools and districts developing policies, protocols and practices to respond to crises and support students and school communities.

This comprehensive crisis response manual from Virginia Department of Education can provide guidance to schools and districts developing policies, protocols and practices to respond to crises and support students and school communities.

D:\MODELS~1\TEST.PDF we can post the PDF

Behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) is a multidisciplinary, fact-based, systematic process designed to identify, assess, and manage potentially dangerous or violent situations. The purpose of the BTAM team is to identify, evaluate, and address potential threats to help schools distinguish between incidents where a student made a threat that is not actually legitimate (with no intent to harm) and other incidents in which the student does pose an actual threat of targeted violence. In all cases, the goal is to pair the student with proper school and community-based intervention and supports. The systematic and proper implementation of BTAM helps avoid impulsive and potentially harmful decisions that can lead to over management (i.e., unnecessary suspension and expulsion) and requires teams to take into account the context and disability rather than using a zero-tolerance approach.

Behavior Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) Best Practice Considerations for K–12 Schools

Schools are a key setting for suicide prevention. Teachers, mental health providers, and all other school personnel who interact with students can play an important role in keeping them safe. Find information, materials, programs, trainings, and resources related to schools at SPRC’s site.

Schools – Suicide Prevention Resource Center

The Hexagon Tool by National Implementation Research Network, helps states, districts, and schools systematically evaluate new and existing interventions via six broad factors: needs, fit, resource availability, evidence, readiness for replication and capacity to implement. A thorough exploration process focused on the proposed program or practice will help your
Implementation Team(s) have a productive discussion related to these six areas and to arrive at a decision to move forward (or not) grounded in solid information from multiple
sources. That information will assist you in communicating with key collaborators and in developing an Implementation Plan.

Microsoft Word – AIHub-SISEP-TheHexagonTool-07-12-2013.docx can use PDF