About 40 percent of high schoolers now report persistent sadness or hopelessness, which is why nearly all public schools currently provide some form of mental health support. However, despite the desire of local educational agencies to provide students the resources they need, many leaders report that limited staffing, unclear roles and crisis-driven demands make it difficult to deliver timely, effective care to every student who needs it.
A new brief developed by researchers from the University of Florida and Boston University, “Promising Practices for School Organization of Mental Health Supports,” explores how LEAs can better leverage existing resources to support students’ mental health and well-being by organizing systems, staff and partnerships to move from “reactive, crisis-driven responses toward coordinated, preventive systems — such as embedding services in schools, partnering with community providers, using universal screening, and leveraging educators as key implementers — while also identifying common practices that can unintentionally exacerbate disparities or undermine student well-being,” it states.
Citing research showing that youth depression, anxiety and suicidality have risen over the past decade; the impact of mental health challenges on academic achievement and graduation rates; and that youth in need of mental health services do not receive them, especially in underserved communities facing provider shortages and financial barriers, the report notes that schools have become the primary source of mental health care for children.
Locating mental health services within schools significantly increases service uptake and improves mental health outcomes for students, according to the brief. Researchers detail how effective collaboration between school leaders, school-based mental health professionals and community mental health providers can expand available services and improve student access to mental health supports.
Additional evidence-based practices explored in the brief show how:
- LEAs that provide a continuum of supports and services (including school-wide programming and targeted supports for students with greater need) use resources more efficiently and are better prepared to address student needs.
- Universal mental health screenings are linked to higher rates of mental health service use among students with mild to moderate disorders.
- Educators are critical to ensuring effective school-based mental health support, not only in delivering targeted, evidence-based practices, but also in influencing peers to adopt them.
- When schools implement practices that are grounded in students’ lived experiences, family norms and community contexts, students are more likely to trust providers, engage in services and benefit from interventions.
Researchers also looked into practices to avoid, including:
- Relying on disciplinary actions and emergency services to address student mental health needs can escalate crises and disproportionately impact marginalized students.
- Underutilizing the expertise of school-based mental health providers by assigning them non-mental health tasks, which means students may not receive adequate support.
- Treating academics and mental health as a zero-sum game, which leads to missed opportunities to effectively support students with the highest needs who are often struggling in both areas.
