Funding Expanded School Mental Health Programs (original) (raw)
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Challenges and opportunities in expanded school mental health
Clinical Psychology Review, 1999
IN MANY COMMUNITIES, mental health services in schools have been limited to youth referred for or already in special education, along with academic advisement and minimal counseling services for other youth (Duchnowski, 1994; Short & Talley, 1997). However, in more and more schools throughout the country, comprehensive mental health programs are being developed. These expanded school mental health (ESMH) programs augment services traditionally offered in schools to provide a broad array of services, including evaluation, treatment, consultation, and prevention, available to all youth, in special and regular education (Weist, 1997). As a testament to the rapid growth of ESMH programs, in October of 1995 the Office of Adolescent Health of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), Health Resources and Services Administration funded two national centers to provide support and technical assistance to this national movement. The Center for School Mental Health Assistance (CSMHA) operates out of our Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland, and the Center for Mental Health in Schools operates out of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The Office of Adolescent Health of MCHB is also funding projects in five states (Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, and South Carolina) to enhance infrastructure for comprehensive mental health services in schools. Why are ESMH programs beginning to proliferate throughout the United States? There are a number of answers to this question. First, in spite of improvements in the children's mental health service delivery system (e.g., those related to the Child and Adolescent Service System Program [CASSP]), the gap between children who need, and those who receive appropriate mental health services is still very large (Day & Roberts, 1991). At a gross level, approximately one in four youth will present needs for mental health services at some point in their lives, but less than one third of these youth will receive appropriate services (
School-Based Mental Health Services
Pediatrics, 2004
More than 20% of children and adolescents have mental health problems. Health care professionals for children and adolescents must educate key stakeholders about the extent of these problems and work together with them to increase access to mental health resources. School-based programs offer the promise of improving access to diagnosis of and treatment for the mental health problems of children and adolescents. Pediatric health care professionals, educators, and mental health specialists should work in collaboration to develop and implement effective school-based mental health services.
Funding a full continuum of mental health promotion and intervention programs in the schools
Journal of Adolescent Health, 2003
To assess the availability of public and private financing sources to support comprehensive school mental health programs. The paper focuses on “expanded school mental health” (ESMH) programs, which provide a full array of mental health promotion and intervention services to youth in general and special education through school–community partnerships.A range of strategies to fund ESMH services are reviewed, including fee-for-service funding, as well as grants, contracts, and other mechanisms from federal, state, local, and private sources.An objective national study of the characteristics and financing of ESMH programs has yet to be conducted. Existing evidence suggests that funding for these programs is patchy and tenuous. Many programs are being funded through fee-for-service programs, which generally only support the provision of more intensive services (e.g., assessment, therapy) and are associated with significant bureaucracy and other concerns (e.g., the need to diagnose students). As programs move to enhance funding for preventive and mental health–promoting activities and services, there is an increasing need for grants, contracts, and other sources of support.Progress in the national movement toward ESMH will be promoted through an interconnected agenda of quality improvement, evaluation of program effectiveness, and the advancement of advocacy. These developments will facilitate policy improvements and increased funding for the full continuum of mental health promotion and intervention in the schools.
Journal of School Health, 2000
Expanded school mental health (ESMH) programs provide a range of mental health services to youth in special and regular education including prevention, assessment, treatment, and case management. Despite the rapid growth of ESMH programs in the United States and elsewhere, many communities still do not have ESMHprograms and those that do exist often fail to implement empirically validated intervention and treatment strategies. Systematic prevention efforts remain a lauded, yet illusive goal. For ESMH programs to fulfill their promise of improved access, increased productivity and improved behavioral outcomes, researchers, school-based mental health service providers, and educators must work together to move child mental health programs beyond limiting constructs and approaches. These issues are reviewed and an example of an "ideal" approach to implement best practices in schools and close the gap between research and practice is offered.
2015
By all indicators, the need for mental health services has been more not less. Not everybody is in agreement that schools should be doing this. The long and short of it is there is some confusion about what constitutes mental health.VU.S. Department of Education official, 2006 Provision of health care in schools is a logical component of an advanced industrial society; however, health care providers have struggled to make universal school health and mental health a reality. Despite the President_s New Freedom Commission Report that stressed the need for school-based mental health in the context of a wider public health agenda, school mental health services and supports continue to be frag-mented.1 Instead of riding a wave of new resources, knowledge, and a quality focus, the school-based mental health movement struggles to answer basic questions about identity. Is school mental health the provision of services similar to those found in a community mental health center? Is it psychos...
Mental Health and Social Services: Results from the School Health Policies and Programs Study 2000
J Sch Health, 2001
BACKGROUND: Schools are in a unique position not only to identify mental health problems among children and adolescents but also to provide links to appropriate services. This article describes the characteristics of school mental health and social services in the United States, including state-and district-level policies and school practices. METHODS: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducts the School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) every 6 years. In 2006, computer-assisted telephone interviews or self-administered mail questionnaires were completed by state education agency personnel in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and among a nationally representative sample of school districts (n = 445). Computer-assisted personal interviews were conducted with personnel in a nationally representative sample of elementary, middle, and high schools (n = 873). RESULTS: Although states and districts generally had not adopted policies stating that schools will have mental health and social services staff, 77.9% of schools had at least a part-time counselor who provided services to students. Fewer schools had school psychologists or social workers. Consequently, counseling services were more common in schools than were psychological or social services. Few schools delivered mental health and social services through school-based health centers. Arrangements with providers not located on school property were more common. CONCLUSIONS: SHPPS 2006 reveals that linkages with the community need to continue and grow to meet the mental health needs of students. Efforts must be made to build systematic state agendas for school-based mental health, emphasizing a shared responsibility among families, schools, and other community systems.
School-based mental health services in the United States: History, current models and needs
Community Mental Health Journal, 1996
Children's mental health needs continue to be largely unmet, even when community services are provided. On-site mental health services in schools address unmet needs by improving access to, and relevance of services. As schools have increasingly been mandated to serve the needs of all children (including those who are emotionally disturbed) general health and mental health services have been increasingly placed in them. Although the provision of basic health care in schools began in the early part of the century, the concept of providing comprehensive services, in which mental health services are integrated into primary medical care, has only been implemented recently. We review the background of school-based mental health services, compare various models of service delivery, and highlight issues important to the future development and advancement of these services.