Implementing School-Based Mental Health Services to Support Students

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Lack of access to effective adolescent mental health treatment in the United States presents a significant public health concern, with nearly half of adolescents experiencing symptoms of a mental illness and one in five experiencing severe impairment. (Merikangas et al., 2010; Whitney & Peterson, 2019). Barriers to effective care include an insufficient number of community-based providers (Langer et al., 2015), minimal evidence-based practice (EBP) penetration in community settings (Garland et al., 2010; Weisz & Kazdin, 2010), limited knowledge among families about where to find effective treatments (Cauce et al., 2002), and stigma associated with help seeking (Cummings et al., 2013). Schools have repeatedly been identified as key stakeholders due to their unique community position (e.g., the Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning Act (2015) (Rep. Ryan, 2015). School-based mental health care provides services for students where they are and eliminates the need to access services that are far away, threatening, or cost prohibitive (Hoover et al., 2019). Most adolescents never receive needed mental health care treatment, but among those who do, 75% access care exclusively in school (Green et al., 2013; Rones & Hoagwood, 2000), where students are more willing to seek mental health help (Burns et al., 1995; Farmer et al., 2003; Parikh et al., 2019).

In this panel, we present new evidence on the implementation of school-based mental health services in diverse settings across the United States. Paper #1 focuses on the Michigan implementation of Project AWARE, a federally funded initiative that is designed to increase the capacity for supporting youth mental health through increased trainings and coordination between schools and community mental health (CMH) organizations. Paper #2 presents rigorous  RCT evidence on the ability to train school mental health professionals (SMHPs) on EBPs to support adolescent wellbeing in a large, urban, predominantly Black school district. Finally, Paper #3 addresses the ongoing shortage of mental health professionals in schools and offers an example of how a state-wide paraprofessionals training program can increase the capacity of schools to support student mental health. Together, these three papers provide valuable lessons for implementing school-based mental health services and policies that can support them. 

Finally, this panel nicely aligns with the APPAM conference theme of “Forging Collaborations for Transformative and Resilient Policy Solutions.” All of these papers represent collaborations between multiple stakeholders. The Michigan implementation of Project AWARE (Paper #1) represents a collaboration between the Department of Education (MDE) and the Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). Paper #2’s training of SMHPs was only possible due to a partnership between the non-profit program provider (TRAILS) and school district leadership, which required intensive collaboration over the three-year grant period. And finally, Paper #3 represents a state-wide rollout, including the Washington State Association of Educational Service District and fifty-two different school districts. Together, these papers and the ensuing discussion have the opportunity to shed light on what can feasibly be done, from a policy and programmatic perspective, to increase the availability of school-based mental health services to students in need.

Policy Area

• Education

Secondary Policy Area

• Health Policy

Chair

• Robin T Jacob, University of Michigan Ann Arbor

Discussants

• Erin Dury, Washington School-Based Health Alliance

• Robin T Jacob, University of Michigan Ann Arbor

Organizer

• Catherine Armstrong Asher, University of Michigan

Individual Presentations

• Coordination and Implementation of Mental Health Supports across Michigan: A Case Study from Project AWARE - Non-Presenting Co-Author: Mili Chocce, University of Michigan; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Catherine Armstrong Asher, University of Michigan; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Robin T Jacob, University of Michigan Ann Arbor; Presenting Author: Deborah Hubbard, University of Michigan

• Implementation Outcomes from an RCT of TRAILS-Early Intervention to Support Youth Mental Health - Non-Presenting Co-Author: Robin T Jacob, University of Michigan Ann Arbor; Presenting Author: Katja Robinson, University of Michigan Ann Arbor; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Catherine Armstrong Asher, University of Michigan

• Behavioral Health Student Assistance Programs: Leveraging Non-traditional Mental Health Providers to Address Mental Health Workforce Shortages - Presenting Author: Eric Bruns, UW SOM

• Sleep Tight, Act Right? The Effect of Sleep on Student Behavior - Presenting Author: Berta Bartoli, New York University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Jo R. King, Boston University