suggestions for supporting student mental health and well-being in your district school board...

SUGGESTIONS FOR SUPPORTING STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING IN YOUR

DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

Building and Sustaining District Conditions

for Effective School Mental Health

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DRAFTSchool Mental Health

ASSIST Webinar Series

School Mental Health ASSIST

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is a provincial team designed to help Ontario school boards to support student mental health and well-

being


Équipe d’appui en santé mentale pour les écoles


1. Organizational Conditions for Effective School Mental Health

2. Mental Health Capacity-Building for Educators

3. Implementation of Evidence-Based Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Programming

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Three Areas of Focus


School Mental Health ASSIST will help ALL school boards

to support student mental health & well-being

By providing hands-on resources to build Mental

Health Awareness

and to support effective decision-making in school

mental health

School Mental Health ASSIST 4

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It is part of Ontario’s

Mental Health and

Addictions Strategy

Open Minds, Healthy Minds is the comprehensive, 10-year strategy designed to address mental health and

addictions needs in Ontario

http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/pub/mental/pdf/open_minds_healthy_minds_en.pdf




Strategy Priorities for the Next 3 Years

Close Critical Service Gaps

• Increase availability of culturally appropriate services and serve more children and youth• in Aboriginal, remote and

underserved communities

• With complex mental health needs

• At the key transition point from secondary to post-secondary education

Identify & Intervene Early

• Provide tools and support to those in contact with children and youth so they can identify mental health issues sooner

• Provide resources for effective responses to mental health issues

• Build mental health literacy and local leadership

Fast Access to High Quality Services

• Build capacity in the community-based sector

• Reduce wait times• Meet community needs• Link education, child and

youth mental health, youth justice, health care, and the community

Support System Change• Support development of an effective and accountable service system for all Ontarians• Build on efforts that promote evidence-informed practice, collaboration, and efficiencies • Develop standards and tools to better measure outcomes for children and youth

School Mental Health ASSIST 6


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Starting with Child and Youth Mental Health Our Vision:

An Ontario in which children and youth mental health is recognized as a key determinant of overall health and well-being, and where children and youth reach their full potential.

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Provide fast access to high quality service

Kids and families will know where to go to get what they need and services will be available to respond

in a timely way.

Identify and intervene in kids’ mental health needs early

Professionals in community-based child and youth mental health agencies and teachers will learn how to

identify and respond to the mental health needs of kids.

Close critical service gaps for vulnerable kids, kids in key transitions, and those in

remote communitiesKids will receive the type of specialized service they need

and it will be culturally appropriate

TH

EM

ES

IND

ICA

TO

RS • Reduced child and youth suicides/suicide

attempts

• Educational progress (EQAO)

• Fewer school suspensions and/or expulsions

• Decrease in severity of mental health issues through treatment

• Decrease in inpatient admission rates for child and youth mental health

• Higher graduation rates

• More professionals trained to identify kids’ mental health needs

• Higher parent satisfaction in services received

• Fewer hospital (ER) admissions and readmissions for child and youth mental health

• Reduced Wait Times

OVERVIEW OF THE MENTAL HEALTH & ADDICTIONS STRATEGY - FIRST 3 YEARS

INIT

IAT

IVE

S

Provide designated mental health workers in

schools

Implement Working Together for Kids’ Mental

Health

Hire Nurse Practitioners for eating disorders program

Improve service coordination for high needs

kids, youth and families

Implement standardized tools for outcomes and needs

assessment

Amend education curriculum to cover

mental health promotion and address stigma

Develop K-12 resource guide for educators

Implement school mental health ASSIST program &mental health literacy

provincially

Enhance and expand Telepsychiatry model and

services

Provide support at key transition points

Hire new Aboriginal workers Implement Aboriginal Mental

Health Worker Training Program

Create 18 service collaboratives

Expand inpatient/outpatient services for child and youth

eating disorders

Reduce wait times for service, revise service contracting, standards, and reporting

Funding to increase supply of child and youth mental

health professionals

Improve public access to service information

Pilot Family Support Navigator model

Y1 pilot

Increase Youth Mental Health Court Workers

Provide nurses in schools to support mental health

services

Implement Mental Health Leaders in selected

School Boards

Outcomes, indicators and development of scorecard

Strategy Evaluation

Interconnected Initiatives

School Boards

Health care settings

Community

settings

MOHLTCNurse LeadersMHA Nurses in DSB programService CollaborativesSSLI

MCYSMH Workers with SchoolsWorking Together SSLI

EDUSMH ASSIST SSLI

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Resources to support mental health awareness

Web space re lated to School Mental Health in Ontar io

ht tp : / / smh-ass i s t . ca /

Dec is ion-making tools

Support for Local P lanning

Presentat ions and Workshops

An Educator Guide to Student Mental Health

2011-2012 access to MyHealth Magazine

ht tp : / /www.myhea l thmagaz ine .net /

Interminister ia l Coordinat ion of In i t iat ives

What Can School Boards Expect?

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BUILDING AND SUSTAINING

DISTRICT CONDITIONS FOR EFFECTIVE SCHOOL

MENTAL HEALTH

Webinar Series – Session 2

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Webinar Series Overview

1. Mental Health Awareness in Ontario School Boards Audiences: All Education Sector Audiences

2. Building and Sustaining District Conditions for Effective School Mental Health Audiences: Trustees, Directors, Superintendents, Chief Social

Workers / Psychologists

3. Building and Sustaining School Conditions for Effective School Mental Health Audiences: Superintendents, School Administrators, School

Mental Health Professionals, Guidance, Student Success, Special Educators

4. Building and Sustaining Classroom Conditions for Effective School Mental Health Audiences: Teachers, Educational Assistants

11School Mental Health ASSIST

Suggested Uses for Webinar Series

Designed to be a flexible resource for educators

Could be used as part of a visioning meeting, a professional development session, or self-study

Select the Webinar that is right for you!Deliver as a Webinar

OR

Use/Tailor the Slide Deck

Draw on the Facilitation Guide for Ideas for Creating an Engaging Staff Development Session


Mental Health Awareness Webinars

Mental Health Awareness is Not an Event

It is an iterative deepening of knowledge that is embedded within school board life

The tools in the School Mental Health ASSIST Webinar Series can be a helpful start, or an enhancement, to board initiatives in this area

The Mental Health Awareness session can be offered in isolation, or as a precursor to any of the sessions in the Series


The Mental Health Capacity Continuum

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The right information, to the right people, in the right way, at the right time

Mental Health Awareness

Mental Health Literacy

Mental Health Expertise

Strategies for providing basic mental health information, tailored for different school

board audiences

Strategies for ensuring deeper working knowledge for those who have a role in supporting

student mental health

Strategies for ensuring that new SMH professionals possess the skills and

knowledge to effectively provide evidence-based SMH promotion, prevention, and

intervention

ALL SOME FEW


A Vis ion for S tudent Menta l Hea l th and Wel l -Be ing

The Importance of Organizat iona l Leadership

Top 10 L is t o f Research-Based Condi t ions for

E f fect ive School Menta l Hea l th

Recommendat ions and Next Steps

Creating District Conditions Session

Overview

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A Vision for Student Mental Health and Well-Being in Ontario

Schools

Ontario students are flourishing,

with a strong sense of belonging

at school,

ready skills for managing

academic and social/emotional

challenges,

and surrounded by caring adults and

communities equipped to identify and

intervene early with students

struggling with mental health

problems


Support educators with knowledge and resources to help them to create mental ly healthy classroomsProvide mental health promotion and prevention programming in schoolsEquip educators to identify and support students with mental health needs Work with famil ies and community partners to create seamless pathways to care for students with signifi cant mental health problems

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To Achieve this Vision, we need to:


A Tiered Model of Support for School Boards

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Universal Mental Health Promotion, Social-Emotional Learning

Targeted Prevention

IntensiveIntervention

Our focus, in District School Boards, is to create mentally healthy environments for students, to provide universal mental health promotion programs in areas of need, and to build skills amongst students who are vulnerable through prevention programming


This is familiar!19

Key Concepts

Universal Design for Learning

Differentiated Instruction

The Tiered Approach


Our Community Partners in MCYS and MOHLTC

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Intensive Intervention

Targeted Prevention

Universal Mental Health Promotion

The focus for our colleagues in the Ministry of Child and Youth Services and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is to provide therapeutic support to children and families with significant mental health problems


Tiered Support in a Systems Framework

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Universal Mental Health Promotion, Social-Emotional Learning

Targeted Prevention

Indicated Intervention

Indicated Intervention

Targeted Prevention

Universal Mental Health Promotion We are better

together!

Community

School Boards


http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.deutschetelekom.com/dtag/cms/contentblob/dt/en/10596/blobBigBinary/3/diversity-haende-171x143-pi.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.deutschetelekom.com/dtag/cms/content/dt/en/20666;jsessionid=01017F68E423D584F082C4AC2B553244&usg=__QoPik3FxDMUevaVw469JFiv_Tzw=&h=296&w=354&sz=32&hl=en&start=19&tbnid=mqJ_m1qw2wBliM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=121&prev=/images?q=diversity&gbv=2&hl=en

Universal (Tier 1) - A school d istr ict made up of car ing c lassrooms and schools , where students learn to bui ld sk i l ls for coping, and know where to turn when l i fe becomes chal lenging Targeted (Tier 2) - A school d istr ict with a range of profess ional supports and prevent ion programs that can be implemented with vulnerable students Intensive (Tier 3) - A school d istr ict with c lear protocols in p lace to ensure that students who are struggl ing are ident ifi ed ear ly and receive support at school , and with in the community i f necessary

A school district with a Tiered Support Strategy

What Would This Look Like?

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Whi le many boards have aspects o f a Tiered Suppor t Mode l in p lace , inc lud ing a ded icated focus on promot ion and prevent ion act iv i t ies may requ i re a change in th ink ing (and poss ib ly a change in s t ructures , a change in ro les , a change in par tnersh ip re la t ionsh ips )

We need to pay at tent ion to s taff menta l hea l th and wel l -be ing dur ing the change process

We need to cont inue to tend to our most d i s t ressed s tudents as we make th i s sh i f t

Getting from Here to There

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Where is our board currently in moving towards a Tiered Support Model for

student mental health?

What are the benefi ts of moving further towards this model?

What are the challenges that would emerge for our board in moving further

towards this model?

How might these challenges be approached?

Reflecting on the Tiered Support Model

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The Importance of Organizational Leadership


ChangeVision Skills Incentives ResourcesActionPlan

=

Adapted from Knoster, T. (1991) Presentation at TASH Conference, Washington DC(Adapted by Knoster from Enterprise Group Ltd.)

Managing Complex Change

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Skills Incentives ResourcesActionPlan

Confusion=

Vision Incentives ResourcesActionPlan

Anxiety=

Vision Skills ResourcesActionPlan

Resistance=

Vision Skills IncentivesActionPlan

Frustration=

Vision Skills Incentives Resources Treadmill=

Adapted from Knoster, T. (1991) Presentation at TASH Conference, Washington DC(Adapted by Knoster from Enterprise Group Ltd.)

Managing Complex Change


Does your board have a clear vision for school mental health? Does your BIPSA address student well-being?

Do educators and central offi ce staff have the ski l ls they need to provide eff ective mental health supports?

Are the incentives for a t iered model of mental health service del ivery clear to board staff ?

Are there suffi cient resources to support eff ective school mental health?

Do you have an action plan related to school mental health? Does the plan include a clear pathway to care?

Self-Assessment

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Have a pivotal role in:Highlighting the importance of student mental health at schoolCommunicating about the Tiered Support ModelCo-Creating a Board Vision for School Mental HealthRecognizing the foundational work of school mental health

professionalsDeveloping required infrastructure and protocols to facilitate effective

tiered supportEncouraging a systematic approach to educator mental health

awareness / literacyEncouraging a systematic approach to the selection of promotion /

prevention programsCo-creating a Board Mental Health Strategy and Action PlanPromoting local evaluation of programs and services

System Leaders

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Supporting the mental health and well-being of staff

Although educators have been dealing with student mental health problems throughout their careers, it may feel like a new area of responsibility Educators feel ill-prepared to deal with student emotional and behavioral problems at school (Taking Mental Health to School, 2009)

Mental health is a sensitive area for some

The Special Role of Leaders

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Ontario Leadership Framework

Leadership is a lever we are using to support

large scale system improvement to

enhance achievement and well-being for our

2 million students in 5000 schools. The Ontario Leadership

Framework is relevant to our work with

student mental health and well-being.



5 Domains:

1. Setting Directions

2. Building Relationships and Developing People

3. Developing the Organization

4. Leading the Instructional Program

5. Securing Accountability

5 Core Leadership Capacities:

1. Promoting Collaborative Learning Cultures

2. Aligning Resources with Priorities

3. Using Data

4. Setting Goals

5. Engaging in Courageous Conversations

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The min istry has ident ifi ed fi ve core leadership capaci t ies der ived f rom the OLF to be the key focus for capaci ty bui ld ing for pr inc ipals

Core Leadership Capacities

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Have a pivotal role in:1. Setting Directions for Student Mental Health

e.g., Co-Creating a Board Vision for School Mental Health

2. Building Relationship and Developing Peoplee.g., Recognizing the foundational work of school mental health

professionals

3. Developing the Organization to be Proactive about Student Mental Healthe.g., Developing required infrastructure and protocols to facilitate effective

tiered support

4. Leading the Mental Health Promotion / Prevention Programming in Schoolse.g., Encouraging a systematic approach to the selection of promotion /

prevention programs

5. Securing Accountability for Student Mental Health and Well-Beinge.g., Promoting local evaluation of programs and services

System Leaders

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Organizational Conditions for Effective School Mental Health


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Implementation Science ( e .g . , Fi x sen e t a l . )

Getting to Outcomes ( e .g . , Wander sman e t a l . )

School-Wide Posit ive Behavior Support ( e .g . ,

Suga i e t a l . )

Expanded School Mental Health ( e .g . , We i s t e t a l . )

REACh Framework ( e .g . , K ra tochw i l l e t a l . )

Knowledge Translation and Exchange ( e .g . ,

Ba rw i ck e t a l . )

Research in Organizational Conditions


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Top 10 List of Conditions

1. Commitment

2. School Mental

Health Leadership

Team

3. Clear & Focused

Vision

4. Shared Language

5. Assessment of Initial

Capacity

6. Standard Processes

7. PD Protocols

8. School Mental

Health Strategy /

Action Plan

9. Broad Collaboration

10. Ongoing Quality

ImprovementSchool Mental Health ASSIST

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Board leaders v iew chi ld and youth mental health as a pr ior i ty , and communicate th is through act ion Board leaders commit to the Tiered Support Model

• Help board staff to understand the rationale for the model, emphasizing the focus in schools on mental health promotion and prevention and the need to work with community partners for help with students with significant mental health concerns

Board leaders cons istent ly attend community l ia ison meet ings and internal mental health team meet ingsBoard leaders prov ide v is ib le , strategic and tangib le support for needed inf rastructure, resources, staffi ng

Commitment

Condition #1


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Board has a mult id isc ip l inary, mult i - layered mental health leadership team

A l l o f the r ight people are at the table ( in terms of expert ise , infl uence, re lat ionships, representat ion)

Parent and youth voice are cr i t ica l

Team has meaningfu l l ia ison with community partners

Team is focused on v is ion-sett ing, leadership, co l laborat ion, strategy/program select ion, problem-solv ing

School Mental Health Leadership Team

Condition #2


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Board has shared, real is t ic goals Vis ion is a l igned with AOP, B IPSA, Strategic Direct ions Vis ion is a l igned with key pr inc ip les in school mental health (e .g. , prevent ive, l inked with instruct ion, ev idence-based, connected with partners at home and school , s trong use of data) Vis ion and goals are created col laborat ive ly Vis ion is the bas is for dec is ion-making

Clear and Focused VisionCondition #3


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The Board Vision for school mental health is communicated clearly across the organizationFoundational knowledge about student mental health is conveyedTerms are defi ned consistentlyWhere diff erences in language occur (e.g., across sectors), there is translationUse of early identifi cation tools can be helpful for fi nding common ways to speak of problem areas

Shared Language

Condition #4


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Assessment data informs the development of the board mental health strategy Before setting priorit ies, an assessment of organizational strengths, needs, and resources (resource mapping) can be very helpful This assessment includes a scan of resources, in the form of people, processes, and programs Staff and student voice data can deepen understanding of needs

Assessment of Initial Capacity

Condition #5


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Board has standard processes for school mental health:

Who does what (role clarification)Selection of school and classroom evidence-based

programsDelivery of training and coaching on programs and

strategiesStandards and tools for monitoring progressPartnerships with communityPathways to service

Standard ProcessesCondition #6


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Board has a systematic approach to capaci ty bui ld ing in mental health and wel l -be ing that inc ludes:

Mental Health Awareness for allMental Health Literacy for those most closely involved with studentsMental Health Expertise for those delivering specialized assessment

& intervention servicesHigh qual i ty t ra in ing protocols , de l ivered by an engaging expertJob-embedded, with ongoing coaching

Protocols for Professional Development

Condition #7

Tools + Training + Technical Assistance + Quality Assurance


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The Board Mental Health Strategy is a l igned with

system goals

The Strategy is founded on ev idence-based

pract ices in school mental health

The Strategy is ta i lored to local context and data

with respect to board needs and strengths

The Strategy is focused on measureable outcomes

An implementat ion support p lan is c lear ly

art icu lated

Mental Health Strategy / Action Plan

Condition #8


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The Board has several established platforms for dialogue and collaboration:

Across departments and schools in the organizationWith community and health agenciesWith universities and other research organizationsWith parentsWith studentsWith other boardsWith government

Broad CollaborationCondition #9


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The board has a system of ongoing quality improvement, that includes measurement:Of program / strategy implementationOf teacher perceptions and knowledgeOf student perceptions and knowledgeOf student outcomes

Ongoing Quality Improvement

Condition #10


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Support for Ontario School Boards


Takes Time Takes Knowledge Takes Partnership Takes Support

Creating these Conditions…

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School Mental Health ASSIST is here to support Ontario School Boards to create conditions necessary for effective delivery of the Tiered Support Model


Diff ering levels of readiness, in terms of: Awareness and understanding Dedicated infrastructure Expertise and resources Relationships with community partners Availability of services in the community

Range of needs and circumstances Economic hardship, remote and rural contexts, special populations,

need for French (and other) language resources

Varying models of service delivery Dependent on resources, needs, cross-agency relationships, past

practices, beliefs…

School Boards…Are Each Unique

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School Mental Health ASSIST appreciates these diff erences and will provide supports that can be tailored for your context:

Mental Health Awareness materials that can be used as part of your professional development work

Selection Tools to help with decision-making related to mental health programs and capacity-building offerings

Website with links to other high-quality resourcesConsultation by request

Resources

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Visit us: http://smh-assist.ca/

Kathy Short, Ph.D., C.Psych.Director, School Mental Health [email protected], x2634

Contact School Mental Health

ASSIST

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mailto:[email protected]

suggestions for supporting student mental health and well-being in your district school board...

Documents

student mental health

mental health promotion

ontarios mental health

mental health awarenessand

complex mental health

ontario school boards

district school boardbuilding

school board staff