System, Agency, and Stakeholder Collaboration to Advance Mental Health Programs in Schools

Abstract

(from the chapter) The U.S. Surgeon General's report on mental healthunderscores that prevention and treatment are both needed to helpreduce social, emotional, and behavioral problems in children andadolescents. The report also emphasizes that schools are a "major"setting for identifying mental health concerns in youth. Consideringthe extensive mental health needs of today's youth, it is not surprisingthat any single agency or organization would have difficulty meetingthe rising demand for services. Expanded school mental health (ESMH)programs are built around these school-community partnerships (Weist,1997). By blending the partners' skills and resources, students andfamilies are afforded a richer array of mental health services (Acosta,Tashman, Prodente, & Proescher, 2002). However, collaboration amongpeople of different backgrounds and disciplines and between agenciesand programs from throughout the community and state is by no meanseasy. In this chapter we provide background to and ideas and examplesof effective school-community-state collaboration to advance mentalhealth in schools. The chapter concludes with two examples--one focusingon state-level collaboration to advance school mental health in NewMexico and a second focusing on the experiences of a program in Baltimore.(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)