Ecology of a Safety Net for Children and Youth: Applying the public health ecological model to school dropouts

An ecological approach to child and youth health safety net interventions presumes certain things: the most relevant is that personal attributes and motivation, relationships, community assets and challenges, as well as broad social policies and practices take place concurrently and exert their influence on health and educational attainment. Disturbing national school dropout rates provide one dilemma that the presenter thinks is best mitigated using an ecological approach because the decision to dropout does not occur in isolation of the comprehensive life experiences of youth. This presentation focuses on the work of SBHCs as critical to stemming the tide of and preventing dropping out because their strategies are ecological in nature and inclusive of families, schools, social systems, programs, and communities.