The Nevada Department of Education, Office of Safe and Respectful Learning Environment (NDE OSRLE), established the Governor’s Social Workers in Schools Initiative with the focus of creating safe schools through prevention programming as well as a system of multi-tiered interventions for students. Providing a social worker in the schools has enhanced the strategy to create safer schools.
The three LEAs (Lyon, Nye, and Washoe School Districts) partnered to develop and provide mental and behavioral health consultation, screening, assessment, and treatment for students and their families on site at school. As a result, services have been provided for 2,042 students (2013-2016 school years). The school districts and community agencies have developed the infrastructure and capacity to continue these services.
The three LEAs (Lyon, Nye, and Washoe School Districts) provided ASQ-SE training for schools and community early childhood professionals. As a result, developmental screenings have been provided to 1,169 young children (2013-2016 school years). The school districts and community agencies have developed the infrastructure and capacity to continue the ASQ-SE screenings.
Each of Wisconsin’s LEAs: Racine, Menominee and Beloit, convened a SS/HS Core Management Team (CMT) to collaboratively lead, plan, and implement local SS/HS strategies to address the needs of students, families, and community. Needs assessment data confirmed that substance use was a serious concern leading to the implementation of alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA) screenings, prevention, and intervention services to prevent behavioral health problems.
Wisconsin’s SS/HS Team and partners committed to promote and improve recognition and treatment of mental health challenges through improved inter-agency collaboration and improved access to treatment.
The Menominee Indian School District (MISD), located on the Menominee Tribal Nation in northeastern Wisconsin, was the only Native American LEA to participate in SAMHSA’s SS/HS State Expansion Program. Ninety-two percent of MISD’s students are Native American and 85% of students are economically disadvantaged suggesting a vulnerable and at-risk population. Historical trauma has affected the way of life for Menominee families and their children. Menominee’s economic, socioeconomic, behavioral health, and physical health issues are deeply rooted in past trauma.
The SS/HS Initiative set an overarching goal to increase family engagement in schools. One key feature of this goal focused on the needs of parents and caregivers who struggled in navigating multiple child serving systems and in accessing services for their child with serious mental and/or behavioral health needs. As a result, Wisconsin’s state team partnered with Wisconsin Family Ties (WFT), the statewide family organization, to establish Parent Peer Support (PPS) providers in LEA’s across the state as a strategy to connect families, schools, and community.
Wisconsin’s SS/HS State Team and LEA’s worked in collaboration with the state Pyramid Model Implementation Team to expand early childhood social emotional learning (SEL) and development across the state through 1) broad implementation of the Pyramid Model, and 2) improving early identification of children at risk for SEL difficulties. By 2017, Wisconsin had 20 additional Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional (ASQ-SE) trainers with the capacity to reach 180 districts and community partners; and 103 new Positive Solutions for Families trainers.
The Michigan Health and Education Partnership (MHEP) was created and expanded from its original SS/HS structure to facilitate bidirectional communication among state and local partners to support best practices, integration, and services that contribute to successful educational, physical, and behavioral health outcomes for all children and families.
In each of the three SS/HS LEA, 100% of early childhood staff were trained in early childhood social emotional learning and development, with “booster sessions” (e.g., coaching, additional workshops, follow-up to assessments) provided during the school year. In addition, 100% of children and youth in each SS/HS LEA have been screened for early social, emotional, or developmental delays and a follow-up screening process has been institutionalized.
