School-based mental health: Bridging hospital and school partnerships

This session will begin with an overview of the current state of affairs in children's mental health. It will then discuss the importance and role of schools in providing mental health services. The focus will specifically be on how schools are critical settings to address early the social-emotional-educational needs of children, through both invention and prevention. Additionally, an overview of the importance of hospital, community, and school partnerships will be shared.

A description and overview of school-based mental health programs and models will be provided. An emphasis will be placed on increasing access to care and reducing the stigma of mental health through school-based services. As an example, a school-based mental health program, Children's Hospital Neighborhood Partnerships (CHNP) in the Department of Psychiatry at Children's Hospital Boston will be discussed. The program currently has a partnership network of 14 Boston-area schools. CHNP provides a range of mental health services on-site in schools, but specifically focuses on preventative services. In 2009-2010, CHNP provided services to over 2600 students and 300 teachers. One of the goals of the program is to build the capacity of schools to better address the mental health needs of their students. The strengths and challenges of program implementation and evaluation will be discussed. There are unique challenges to conducting systemic evaluation that captures the multiple levels of work across school sites. Data from the last three years will be shared.

In closing, recommendations and suggestions for improving and enhancing school-based mental health will be set forth.