Background/Context: One key component of school violence prevention is that schools have comprehensive multi-tiered systems of support that promote mental health and reduce the prevalence and severity of mental illness. School personnel’s lack of knowledge about student mental health issues is one barrier, but more importantly, states, districts, and schools need technical assistance on the process of implementing the full range of school mental health services.

Description: Funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network includes 10 Regional Centers, a National American Indian and Alaska Native Center, a National Hispanic & Latino Center, and a Network Coordinating Office. The MHTTC Network provides free training and technical assistance to accelerate the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices for mental disorders. Through our School Mental Health Initiative, the MHTTC Network has developed national products that are being used in intensive technical assistance projects across the United States. In collaboration with the National Center for School Mental Health, we developed a MHTTC National School Mental Health Curriculum aimed at states, districts, and schools; completed a national learning collaborative; and released a free online course that prepares educators to promote student mental health and support students experiencing adversity, distress, and mental health challenges in the classroom.

Lessons Learned: The MHTTC Network has provided training and technical assistance to over 10,000 educators, and school and mental health leaders through training, learning collaboratives, coaching, and implementation facilitation. Throughout this process, we found that readiness, fit, feasibility, and scalability will vary across states, districts, and schools; therefore, these factors are critical when determining appropriate training and technical assistance strategies to utilize in helping increase the implementation of school mental health services.

Recommendations/Implications: Educator training on signs and symptoms of mental health disorders is just one component of comprehensive school mental health services. Attention needs to be paid to systems-level change at the state, district, and building levels. Robust training and technical assistance strategies can assist in increasing the implementation of school mental health services, which can reduce school violence and result in positive student outcomes.