School Mental Health Services for the 21st Century: Lessons from the District of Columbia School Mental Health Program
Author: Price, Olga Acosta
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Mental Health Programs,Public Health,Mental Health,School Health Services,Early Intervention,Health Activities,Program Evaluation,Mental Health Workers,Educational Change,Counties

In January 2007, The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services was commissioned to assess operations of school mental health programs in Washington, D.C. and recommend future directions in practices, policies and systems development. While this guidance is directed primarily at the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health, the goal of this report is to offer guidance for all public and private organizations and individuals that share a commitment to effective mental health programs for children in the District of Columbia. This report is based on a 16-month examination of school-connected mental health programs here in the District of Columbia and in cities, counties and states around the nation. In the course of the study, the authors conducted an in-depth examination of school mental health programs in DC, reviewed relevant literature, and interviewed 100 local and national experts in children's mental health and school mental health. Policymakers, program directors, educators and mental health professionals increasingly view school-connected mental health as essential to effective schools and well-functioning mental health systems of care. Last year this perspective was evident in the District of Columbia when the Interagency Collaboration and Services Integration Commission (ICSIC) included school mental health as part of the District of Columbia Public Education Reform Amendment Act of 2007. The overarching goal of this report is to document the critical components of effective school mental health programs utilizing the best current thinking and practice so that programs developed with this guidance in mind can withstand the political, economic, and social pressures that frequently erode best-practice models. To this end, the report recommends a number of roles, functions, and activities for the DC Department of Mental Health within five areas: organizational management, program development and evidence-based practices, training and professional development, financing, and program evaluation and outcomes research. Thirteen appendices are included: (1) Interviewees for DMH school mental health report; (2) List of supplemental reports available upon request; (3) District of Columbia schools with school mental health professionals; (4) Comparison of Staff Requirements, Cost, and Productivity Between D.C. and Other Cities; (5) Examples of state mental health laws that address a continuum of children's mental health care and the role of schools; (6) List of school health programs and initiatives in DC; (7) A guide for mapping school-based mental health activities; (8) Table of Organization for the D.C. Department of Mental Health Office of Programs and Prevention &amp; Early Intervention Programs; (9) Template for the development of standards for school mental health programs in D.C; (10) List of Evidenced-Based Programs or Data Driven Practices or Programs for use in the School Mental Health Program for SY 2007-2008; (11) Sources that have reviewed evidence-based or promising programs for use in schools; (12) Sources of Federal funding for school-based mental health care; and (13) Proposed plan to implement a citywide school mental health evaluation program. (Contains 10 tables and 1 figure.) [This report was funded through the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Program, a partnership of the U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Justice.]