Education and mental health integration will be advanced when the goal of mental health includes effective schooling and the goal of effective schools includes the healthy functioning of students. To build a solid foundation for this reciprocal agenda, especially within the zeitgeist of recent educational
reforms, a change in the fundamental framework within which school mental health is conceptualized is needed.
A framework that seeks to reinforce the interdisciplinary, collaborative, and cohesive approach that is required to create and sustain genuinely safe, supportive schools that meet the needs of the whole child.
As we enter the new millennium, there is increasing concern about the growing number of children and adolescents who experience difficulties facing the challenges of development and who succumb to the adverse effects of emotional disturbance. This increase in the need to support America’s youth occurs in a context of system transformation aimed at improving the effectiveness of services and increasing the capacity to serve all children who are in need.
This initiative connects or co-locates effective behavioral health services with schools and students at the local level. This project has proven particularly effective in reaching children who have never accessed mental health services.
A toolkit providing a common and shared framework to help school systems and communities identify what youth need in order to achieve successful participation in postsecondary education and training, civic engagement, meaningful employment, and adult life.
