|
NCSMH Newsletter
January 2020 |
| The National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Maternal and Child Health Bureau to advance school mental health programs and policies to promote success for America’s youth. |
|
The National Center for School Mental Health team wishes you a very happy, healthy, and fulfilling new year! |
|
|
|
|
|
| In this edition, you can find...- Request for Proposals-The 2020 Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health
- Tips to stay mentally healthy this winter
- Summary of 2019 Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health
- The updated SHAPE system
- Reports offering guidance on a range of school mental health issues
- Recent journal articles, policy announcements, funding opportunities, and more!
|
| | |
The 2020 Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health is October 29-31 in Baltimore, MD!
Submit by midnight, February 24, 2020.
If you or your organization are interested in exhibiting or sponsoring, please contact Sylvia McCree-Huntley at shuntley@som.umaryland.edu or 410-706-0981.
We hope to see you there! #ASMH2020 #SchoolMentalHealth
|
|
| Intelligent Lives film
The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) is partnering with award-winning director Dan Habib on his Intelligent Lives film, which follows the stories of three young adults with intellectual disabilities as they challenge perceptions of intelligence while navigating high school, school, and the workforce. Learn about screening locations or host a screening.
Staying Mentally Healthy in the Winter While we often associate winter with holiday cheer, some youth and adults will experience “the winter blues,” symptoms of depression, or even Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). In addition, some students may return from holiday breaks that were challenging due to extended time out of school with decreased activities or reminders of lost loved ones. The We Are Teachers website and the National Association of Secondary School Principals website provide advice on how to sensitively talk to students about these topics. Winter may also be a good time for teachers, practitioners, and school staff to increase self-care practices. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network provides resources on addressing secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout, as well as a webinar on the relationship between childhood trauma, culture, and the holidays.
National Association of School Psychologists 2020 Annual Convention February 18-21, 2020 Registration is open! NASP is the nation’s largest school psychology professional association. The conference program focuses on advancing effective practices to improve students’ learning, behavior, and mental health. This year’s conference will have several sessions focused on leadership and advocacy. Visit the NASP website for more information.
|
| | Thank you for attending the 2019 Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health
The 2019 Annual Conference hosted in Austin, Texas was a resounding success. This year we had over 2,000 attendees, with representation from all 50 states. This conference featured three pre-conference sessions, including the Annual Research Summit, the Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy Forum, and Texas’ Summit on Advancing Behavioral Health Collaboratives. Keynote addresses featured Dr. Isaiah B. Pickens on “Unlocked Potential: The Key to Transforming the Future of Our Youth.” and Dr. Claire Crooks on “Adapting Evidence-based Practices for Specific Populations: The intersection between utilizing effective practices and ensuring fit and relevancy.”
Congratulations to our conference award winners who were recognized during this year’s awards luncheon:
• Mary Steady, MEd – School Mental Health Champion Award
• Yesmina Luchsinger, MS – Youth and Family Partnership Award
• Steve Evans, PhD – Research Award
• Robert Weissberg, PhD – Juanita Cunningham Evans Memorial Award
Thank you to all of our staff, volunteers, speakers, presenters, and attendees. We look forward to seeing each of you next year, October 29-31, for the 2020 Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health in Baltimore, Maryland! |
|
Left to Right: Brittany Patterson, Nancy Lever, Mary Steady, Yesmina Luchsinger, Steve Evans, and Sharon Hoover. |
| | | The SHAPE System
We listened to your feedback-The SHAPE system is revised with updated national performance measures, a screening & assessment library, resource center, trauma-responsive tools, and more! Visit the SHAPE system, view our announcement, or read this post from the Center for Educational Improvement to learn more! |
| | | RESOURCES
Best Practices in Universal Screening for Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Outcomes: An Implementation Guide
Universal social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) screening is increasingly being recognized as a foundational component of a comprehensive, multi-tiered system of school-based supports. As schools strive to develop a systematic approach to meeting the SEB health of all students, often with limited resources and competing priorities, there is a need for responsive, efficient, and effective systems and data to improve outcomes. Universal SEB screening is one component of such a comprehensive approach and increasingly being adopted by schools and districts across the country. The purpose of this guide is to summarize the current state of research and practice related to universal SEB screening and provide practical and defensible recommendations.
Transforming Trauma in LGBTQ Youth
This webinar and the accompanying guide discuss how professionals can recognize qualities of a safe, affirming environment where staff can explore personal views and values, and articulate professional responsibilities. Presenters share the experiences of LGBTQ youth in out-of-home care settings and respectful and supportive ways to interact with LGBTQ youth and their caregivers. Also, presenters explain the application of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for complex trauma and how to tailor it for LGBTQ youth. |
| | |
REPORTS
The link between excessive or impairing internet use and depression is increasingly supported by research. At the same time, studies, surveys and testimonials demonstrate that for many young people, communicating online makes them feel better about themselves and more connected. The purpose of the Children’s Mental Health Report is to put these risks and benefits in context for parents and educators so that they can practically guide youth in a connected world.
Authors: Harry Kimball & Yakira Cohen
Organization: Child Mind Institute
The Current Landscape of School District and Charter Policies That Support Health Schools: School Year 2017-2018
In January 2019, Child Trends, in partnership with the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Institute for Health Research and Policy (IHRP) and EMT Associates, released an analysis of how state laws and regulations address key school health topics aligned to the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) framework. This study, led by IHRP, complements that initial work by exploring how local education agencies (LEAs), including both public school districts and charter LEAs, address a selection of school health topics in their policies, and how LEA policy coverage compares to coverage in the laws and regulations of 20 strategically selected states. The goal of this study is to begin to understand whether certain topics have momentum at either the state or district levels, and what opportunities may exist to better align and integrate school health policies.
Authors: Elizabeth Piekarz-Porter, Rebecca M. Schermbeck, Julien Leider, Deborah Temkin, Jonathan Belford, & Jamie F. Chriqui
Organizations: Child Trends, Institute for Health Research and Policy
Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Leveraging the Best Available Evidence
This is a resource to help states and communities leverage the best available evidence to prevent ACEs from happening in the first place as well as lessen harms when ACEs do occur. It features six strategies drawn from the CDC Technical Packages to Prevent Violence, including strengthening economic supports for families, promoting social norms that protect against violence and adversity, ensuring a strong start for children in school, teaching skills, connecting youth to caring adults and activities, and intervening to lessen immediate and long-term harms.
Authors: Debra E. Houry, MD, MPH, & James A. Mercy, PhD
Organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Current Landscape of School District and Charter Policies That Support Healthy Schools
Education policy making in the United States occurs at the federal, state, local education agency (e.g., district), and school levels. Although policies often pass from one level to another, levels may approach topics differently or prioritize some topics over others. District-level policy may, for instance, be a precursor for broader state-level policy to be enacted in the future. Child Trends, in partnership with the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Institute for Health Research and Policy (IHRP) and EMT Associates, released an analysis of how state laws and regulations address key school health topics aligned to the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) framework. This study, led by IHRP, complements that initial work by exploring how local education agencies (LEAs), including both public school districts and charter LEAs, address a selection of school health topics in their policies, and how LEA policy coverage compares to coverage in the laws and regulations of 20 strategically selected states. The goal of this study is to begin to understand whether certain topics have momentum at either the state or district levels, and what opportunities may exist to better align and integrate school health policies.
Authors: Elizabeth Piekarz-Porter, Rebecca M. Schermbeck, Julien Leider, Deborah Temkin, Jonathan Belford, & Jamie F. Chriqui
Organizations: Child Trends, Institute for Health Research and Policy |
|
| |
JOURNAL ARTICLES
Special Issue Announcement: Implementation Science in School Psychology
Journal: Journal of School Psychology
Editors: Lisa Sanetti, Melissa Collier-Meek
A vast number of evidence-based practices (EBPs) are available to address the educational and psychological needs of youth (Forman et al., 2013). The underlying rationale for EBP is that better outcomes will result when practitioners integrate research findings into routine service delivery, as opposed to tradition, anecdotes, or convenience, when making practice-based decisions (Reed, McLaughlin, & Newman, 2002). Identifying an appropriate EBP is necessary, but insufficient, for producing change in clients (Sanetti & Kratochwill, 2014). To produce change, an EBP must be adopted, delivered, and sustained in the service delivery setting. Unfortunately, research results consistently indicate EBP adoption is slow and quite low in school settings (Ennett et al., 2003). Further, when EBPs are adopted, most fail due to barriers that undermine successful implementation (Forman et al., 2013). It is now widely accepted that there is a significant implementation gap between the practices we know work and those that are routinely adopted and delivered in schools. The multidisciplinary field of implementation science, which focuses specifically on the uptake of research findings in practice, was developed specifically to address such implementation gaps. Application of implementation science to school psychology could facilitate closing the research-to-practice gap in schools, yet it has been largely ignored. As such, a critical need for the field is to shift our focus on implementation processes and outcomes that increase the efficiency and effectiveness of translating EBPs to schools. The Special Issue is a compilation of conceptual and empirical articles regarding implementation science related to school psychology to advance understanding of implementation processes and highlight high-quality implementation science research
Crowley, B. Z., Datta, P., Stohlman, S., Cornell, D., & Konold, T. (2019). Authoritative school climate and sexual harassment: A cross-sectional multilevel analysis of student self-reports. School Psychology, 34(5), 469-478. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/spq0000303
School sexual harassment (SH) is defined as unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature that interferes with a student’s ability to learn. There is an important need for schools to assess the prevalence of SH and its relation to school climate to guide intervention efforts. This study investigated 3 research questions: (a) Is there psychometric support for a 4-item multilevel measure of SH? (b) What is the prevalence of SH in a statewide high school sample, and how does SH vary across gender, grade level, race–ethnicity, and socioeconomic status? (c) Is an authoritative school climate—characterized by strict but fair discipline and supportive teacher–student relationships—associated with lower levels of SH for students? A statewide sample of high school students (N = 62,679) completed a school climate survey that included a new 4-item measure of SH. Results of a multilevel confirmatory factor analysis indicated good fit for a single SH factor at both student and school levels. A multiway analysis of variance demonstrated the high prevalence of SH and variations across demographic groups. Multilevel hierarchical regression analyses indicated that an authoritative school climate accounted for 5.7% of the student-level variance and 38.3% of the school-level variance in SH scores. Routine assessment of SH can help school psychologists bring attention to this underrecognized problem.
Maynard, B. R., Farina, A. S. J., Dell, N. A., & Kelly, M. S. (In Press). Effects of trauma-informed approaches in schools: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 15. doi: 10.1002/cl2.1018
This Campbell systematic review sought to examine the effects trauma‐informed schools on trauma symptoms/mental health, academic performance, behavior, and socioemotional functioning. Trauma‐informed approaches include programs, organizations, or systems that realize the impact of trauma, recognize the symptoms of trauma, respond by integrating knowledge about trauma policies and practices, and seeks to reduce retraumatization. At least two of the three key elements of a trauma‐informed approach must have been present: Workforce development, trauma‐focused services, and organizational environment and practices, which differ from trauma‐specific interventions designed to treat or otherwise address the impact/symptoms of trauma and facilitate healing. Although we conducted a comprehensive search to find studies testing trauma‐informed approaches in schools, no studies met the inclusion criteria.
Weist, M. D., Hoover, S., Lever, N., Youngstrom, E. A., George, M., McDaniel, H. L., . . . Hoagwood, K. (2019). Testing a package of evidence-based practices in school mental health. School Mental Health, doi:10.1007/s12310-019-09322-4
This study tested an integrated package for high-quality school mental health (SMH) services involving quality assessment and improvement, family engagement and empowerment, modular evidence-based practice, and implementation support. Within a two-year randomized controlled trial, 35 clinicians, who provided services to 529 students and their families, were randomly assigned to the enhanced quality assessment and improvement intervention condition and a comparison condition focused on promoting personal and staff wellness. Significant clinician-level findings were found for increased use and fidelity of evidence-based practices and greater use of structured assessments and sessions involving family members. Results are discussed in relation to needed methodological improvements in SMH treatment outcome research and increasing use of evidence-based practices by clinicians by adding accountability and incentives to training, coaching, and implementation support. |
|
| POLICY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Secretary DeVos Issues Updates on Equitable Services for Private School Students under ESSA
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos released updates in October 2019 to clarify existing statutory obligations of local education agencies (LEAs) to provide equitable educational services to eligible private school students, their teachers, and their families under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The updates reflect changes to the statutory provisions governing equitable services by ESSA, emphasize collaboration and consultation between public and private school officials to provide needed services to eligible students, and consolidate information previously spread across multiple documents. |
| | | FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
System of Care (SOC) Expansion and Sustainability Grants
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2020 Grants for Expansion and Sustainability of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances (Short title: System of Care (SOC) Expansion and Sustainability Grants). The purpose of this program is to improve the mental health outcomes for children and youth, birth through age 21, with serious emotional disturbance (SED), and their families. This program will support the implementation, expansion, and integration of the SOC approach by creating sustainable infrastructure and services that are required as part of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and their Families Program (also known as the Children’s Mental Health Initiative or CMHI).
Deadline: Monday, February 3, 2020 Anticipated Award Amount: From $1,000,000 to $3,000,000 per year, up to four years
Eligibility: State governments and territories, governmental units within political subdivisions of a state (county, city, town, etc.), and federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native tribal organizations as determined in Section 5304(b) and Section 5304(c) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. |
| |
| |
