Elements of School-Linked Services
Schools are a natural place for students to receive mental health support due to the extensive amount of time they spend in educational settings. Students identified as at risk for mental health issues are more likely to receive adequate support if these services are provided in school rather than in the community. Therefore, it is important that school staff members consider the mental health needs of their students and collaborate with mental health professionals to create school-linked services. The following strategies provide school teams with a process to identify, select, implement, monitor, evaluate, and adapt evidence-based behavioral and mental health practices within schools. Schools implementing school-linked mental health services should:
Identify and implement intervention and treatment methods that have documented effective outcomes for children.
A continuum of supports for students that increase in intensity and are meant to prevent mental illness and promote wellness for all students includes universal strategies, screening and early intervention to ensure students requiring additional support. More intensive individualized services are also provided for students with imminent mental health issues (Please see Positive Behavior Support and preventing challenging behavior using the public health model page for more information about the public health prevention model).
Strategies for promoting health and wellness should be implemented across settings including classrooms, hallways, cafeteria, recess, and transportation. Provide all teachers with explicit, and active training for positive classroom management.
Example: A person is learning to request a break with a nonverbal cue rather than running out of the room. Whenever the person requests a break, the interventionist immediately releases the person from the task they are working on and lets them have a short break. This is an example of immediate reinforcement. If the person requests a break and the interventionist does not immediately release them from the task they are working on, then the reinforcement is delayed (i.e. not immediate).