All Projects

DC School Behavioral Health Community of Practice

District of Columbia Department of Behavioral Health

CHHCS organizes and facilitates the DC School Behavioral Health Community of Practice, which provides a learning community to support DC’s School Behavioral Health Expansion Initiative

Overview

CHHCS provides leadership, technical assistance, and professional development to a newly-established Community of Practice. This will support the expansion of comprehensive school behavioral health care in Washington, DC public and charter schools. The Community of Practice aims to develop highly-effective and sustainable partnerships between schools, community-based organizations, behavioral health service providers, youth and families, and other relevant stakeholders within the community. These partnerships will support the implementation of comprehensive school behavioral systems designed to increase access to behavioral health services and support the emotional well-being of students in DC.

Through the Community of Practice, CHHCS guides the planning and facilitation of learning sessions focused on building participating stakeholders knowledge, skills, and competencies. CHHCS also provides technical assistance to schools and CBOs as well as access to resources through an easily accessible database. This database is available to school staff, teachers, clinicians, families, and the DC Community to view resources related to this initiative. These partnerships and knowledge-building opportunities will help school leaders, administrators, community-based organizations, and service providers, to effectively implement best practices within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework that includes preventative, early intervention, and targeted support for all students. This effort will also incorporate a young-adult partnership work group to help elevate the voice and leadership of young people in the delivery of mental health support to them and their families.

Youth Mental Health First Aid: Train the Trainer

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

CHHCS received a grant award from SAMHSA to deliver Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training to non-instructional school staff across the District of Columbia over a 4 year period starting in January 2023.

Overview: CHHCS is training participants to become certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid in order to help train other school personnel and close the youth mental health disparity gap across DC. The grant will allow YMHFA to be offered to non-instructional school-based personnel, such as athletic directors/coaches, school security officers, school nurses, caregivers, and community liaisons. Training(s) will include topics that address prevalent mental health challenges and disorders in youth and young adults such as, Depression, Anxiety, Eating Disorders, Panic Attacks, Substance Use and Abuse, Traumatic Events, and Psychotic Disorders.

Dissemination and Implementation of Grief, Loss & Trauma Training

J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation; Wendt Center for Loss and Healing, DC School Behavioral Health Community of Practice

CHHCS is working with the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing to offer a series of grief, loss, and trauma trainings for school-based providers in the DC School Behavioral Community of Practice.

Overview

CHHCS is partnering with the Wendt Center to facilitate the implementation of effective school-based grief, loss, and trauma strategies, practices and interventions coordinated through the DC School Behavioral Health Community of Practice structure. This will include foundational and grief group training for new and existing DC providers as they enter the DC behavioral health system.

The foundational trainings will be conducted from summer 2022-spring 2024 and will help increase the capacity of school behavioral health providers to address the grief, loss, and trauma symptoms exhibited by DC public school students and their families. Grief group training will be offered concurrently to equip mental health professionals with the tools to support groups of grieving students. CHHCS and the Wendt Center will incorporate guidance and ongoing consultation on how to utilize resources and materials, problem-solve, and share effective strategies to develop grief supportive classrooms and ultimately reduce the referral burden.

Resources

Tip Sheet for Clinicians

Tip Sheet for Teachers

Summary of Grief & Loss Training Participants in 2021

DC Stakeholder Learning Community

Bainum Family Foundation

CHHCS worked with a diverse set of thought leaders throughout DC to advance a comprehensive school behavioral health system in the District.

Overview

The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools partnered with the Bainum Family Foundation to support a District-wide Stakeholder Learning Community (SLC) composed of 15+local school behavioral health stakeholders. This SLC advanced a comprehensive school behavioral health system. From 2019-2022 the SLC developed a shared, long-term vision for improving child behavioral health in DC and developed a system dynamics model to inform policy-making and program design for comprehensive school behavioral health in DC.

CHHCS advanced this work by helping to operationalize prioritized policy action items, collaborate with other coalitions and advocacy groups to co-lead action items, and began to quantify elements of the system dynamics models to assess ongoing impact to students and their families. This will allow for the implementation of select action items with continued input from key stakeholder groups and monitoring of impact through system dynamics modeling.

Resources

Report: Strengthening DC School Behavioral Health System and Enhancing Equity

This report represents a collective effort to understand the policy landscape, identify strengths and challenges, and offers actionable recommendations to improve the District’s school behavioral system. It was co-created by a coalition of research, practice, and policy partners and informed by best practices and feedback and input from students, families, educators, and other key stakeholders across the city.

Webinar: Strengthening DC School Behavioral Health System and Enhancing Equity

To learn more about effective implementation of child behavioral health interventions, we hosted a webinar on March 29, 2022 where we share about our collaborative efforts to advance and improve our school behavioral health system for children and families in the District of Columbia.

Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN) on School-Based Health Services

School-Based Health Alliance, National Center for School Mental Health, and Human Resources and Services Administration

CHHCS provided leadership and technical expertise on ways to integrate the social determinants of health and education into improvement efforts of school-based health centers and school mental health systems across the U.S.

Social determinants of health, as they relate to school-based health services promotion, prevention and treatment
Financing and sustainability of school health
Addressing school needs of special populations, such as refugees and immigrants

Overview

CHHCS partnered with the School-Based Health Alliance (SBHA) and the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH) to provide leadership and technical expertise on integrating the social determinants of health into improvement efforts of school-based health centers and comprehensive school mental health systems across the United States.

The overall project, led by SBHA and NCSMH, aimed to increase the number of school-based health centers and comprehensive school mental health systems in the country—and the number of students served by them— while also demonstrating their use of best practices and improved quality of care. An additional objective of the project wass to increase the number of states with specific policies or programs that promote the quality, sustainability, and growth of school-based health services.

Members of CHHCS staff also serve as subject matter experts during monthly learning sessions which help build states’ capacities to address factors that impede student health and academic success. CHHCS also supported the development of peer-reviewed publications and resources and their dissemination.

Resources

Brief #1: Understanding Social Influencers of Health and Education: A Role for School-Based Health Centers and Comprehensive School Mental Health Systems

Brief #2: Assessing Social Influences of Health and Education

Brief #3: Addressing Social Influences of Health and Education Using a Multi-Tiered System of Supports Framework

Brief #4: Social Influencers of Health and Education Needs Assessment: A Pathway for School Health and Mental Health Professionals

Webinar: Understanding and Addressing the Social Influencers of Health and Education

Empower K12 LEARN

EmpowerK12

CHHCS supported the development of wellbeing assessment tools and surveys to support research on how social and emotional wellbeing of students ages 8-13 and their educators influence each other.

Overview

CHHCS worked with EmpowerK12 to develop a suite of wellbeing assessment tools and surveys to support research on how social and emotional wellbeing, including identity development, of students ages 8-13 (in grades 3-8) and their educators influence each other. The goal of this work was to improve social-emotional and academic wellbeing of upper elementary and middle school students. The project also allowed partner schools to share educator data along with student discipline, attendance, and academic data to track impact.

During this project, the team developed wellbeing check-in tools for educators and students to closely monitor adversity and how changes in wellbeing impact both groups. The data team, alongside school partners, collected data bi-weekly throughout the 2022-23 school year to identify statistically significant deviations in educator/student wellbeing and conducting site interviews and focus groups to understand qualitative conditions underpinning significant improvements or regressions in wellbeing trends.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for DCPS Becoming: Embedding Whole Child Development in the District of Columbia

Porticus North America and Program Partners: District of Columbia Public Schools , DC Public Education Fund , Education Forward DC, Transcend Education, and Turnaround for Children

CHHCS is working with Porticus to develop a monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) approach for the District of Columbia Public Schools Becoming program to evaluate and share lessons learning from this Whole Child Development initiative.

Overview

CHHCS is working with Porticus North America to monitor, evaluate and share lessons learned from a Whole Child Development initiative in Washington, DC which ensures that all DC children and youth are reached by the District of Columbia Public Schools Becoming program. This includes evaluating the extent to which DCPS have adopted WCD principles into operational and education programs, policies, and practices as well as assessing the implementation of multiple facets of WCD including curriculum, pedagogical practices, the physical school environment, and using the science of learning and development.

This work includes:

Using collaborative group processes to envision the ways in which the Theory of Change and MEL approach can be enhanced
Developing and implementing a mixed-methods evaluation plan that captures the experiences of program partners, administrators, teachers, and most importantly, students
Synthesizing, refining, and sharing what has been learned in order to embed WCD at the systems level and sustain efforts long-term

Mental Wellness in DC

Bainum Family Foundation

In partnership with the Bainum Family Foundation, CHHCS worked in four DC schools to build their capacity to implement and sustain a comprehensive school behavioral health system.

Overview

CHHCS partnered with the Bainum Family Foundation to increase mental health supports available to children and families in Wards 7 and 8 of Washington, DC and to advance the field of school-based mental health. The strategy included identifying a group of three to four public charter elementary and middle schools in Wards 7 and 8 to participate in a Community of Practice. CHHCS and the Foundation provided three years of training and technical assistance in the areas of data-driven decision making, family and community engagement, and coordinated multi-tiered systems of support (with focus on Tier 1 universal supports). Assistance was also given for each school to implement and sustain best practices tailored to its unique needs.

CHHCS convened and lead a District-wide Learning Community of local school-based stakeholders to leverage existing expertise and coordinate and share resources. Working with national partners—including the Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (CSMH) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), CHHCS connected national experts to advance comprehensive school mental health systems. The goal of these meetings was to discuss local, state and federal strategies to strengthen the availability and quality of school-based mental health services for children, youth and families. The first of a series of meetings took place in DC in September 2017.

Resources

Advancing Comprehensive School Mental Health Systems: Guidance From the Field

The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools is proud to be part of the team behind “Advancing Comprehensive School Mental Health Systems: Guidance From the Field.” The report’s insights are designed to promote positive school climate and safety, strengthen students’ social and emotional learning, and foster mental health and general well-being, while reducing the prevalence and severity of mental illness.

Evaluation of UpPotential's Youth Caring Program

UpPotential, Hong Kong

CHHCS worked with UpPotential to develop and implement a monitoring and evaluation plan for UpPotential’s Youth Caring Program, based in Hong Kong.

Overview

UpPotential provides culturally-adapted and research-based information, resources, and life skills training to enable individuals—regardless of age, gender, or ethnicity—to lead a healthy and constructive life. The Youth Caring Program (YCP), based in Hong Kong, helps students learn to manage stress and increase resilience to enhance mental wellness awareness, and believes self-help skills can become a caring act for oneself and others. YCP incorporates cultural and research-based programs through online training in the school environment.

The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools (CHHCS) worked with UpPotential to develop and implement a monitoring and evaluation plan for UpPotential. UpPotential sought guidance on designing a mixed-methods evaluation to understand the effectiveness of the program. This evaluation helped highlight the strengths of the program as well as areas for improvement. UpPotential sought to use the evaluation results to obtain public and private funding to scale the program.

Resources

UpPotential Youth Caring Program Overview

UpPotential Youth Caring Program Highlights

UpPotential Youth Caring Program: Report of Findings 2017–2020

Supporting DC Student Well-Being Surveys

SchoolTalk DC

CHHCS worked with SchoolTalk DC to design and facilitate learning sessions for school leaders to analyze the results of the EmpowerK12 Spring 2021 Student Wellbeing Survey.

Overview: EmpowerK12’s DC Student Wellbeing Survey. CHHCS also supported the development of a data dialogue/planning tool for LEAs to use to review, discuss and act on the survey results.

Exploration of School-Based Wellbeing in the U.S.

Cross-Disciplinary Research Fund of the George Washington University

Working with the GW School of Education and Human Development, CHHCS conducted research to better understand how teachers and school leaders define “wellness.”

Develop a novel, comprehensive framework of a construct termed “school-based well-being for schools in the United States
Identify characteristics of “well schools” and provide an analysis of current levels of wellness (as reported by educators)

Overview

Together with GW’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development, CHHCS worked to revise and develop new models for understanding wellness in schools. The project aimed to:

Develop a novel, comprehensive framework of a construct termed “school-based well-being for schools in the United States
Identify characteristics of “well schools” and provide an analysis of current levels of wellness (as reported by educators)

These aims were accomplished by using a mixed methods research design, which integrates the collection of both qualitative data (focus groups and interviews) and quantitative data (surveys). Research participants included schools from the Washington, DC and several other metropolitan areas to ensure a sampling from diverse school systems and participants. The findings from this research resulted in knowledge which supported the development of a new model and framework for examining school-based wellbeing. The development and dissemination of this model will help to drive theory and provide a significant framework for the fields of education, public health, educational leadership, psychology, and teacher preparation.

Establishing the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at Children's National

National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences

CHHCS led the team that works on recruitment and retention for the GWU and Children’s National Hospital Clinical and Translational Science Institute with the NIH.

Overview

CHHCS led the Liaison to Recruitment Innovation Centers (LRIC) module for the CTSI-CN, a partnership between Children’s National and The George Washington University (GW) to establish the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at Children’s National (CTSI-CN). Funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), the CTSI-CN offers unique resources in translating discovery to improved health, its vision is to promote innovations that speed the translation of research into improved child, family, and community health.

As the LRIC module lead, CHHCS guided the development of resources for recruitment best practices as well as designing the workflow for how recruitment integrates with study development and implementation. The LRIC also conducted a survey of participants at GW and Children’s National to learn about the recruitment resources they needed to be successful. This led to the creation of an innovative program to have GW public health students design social marketing campaigns to recruit patients for trials.

Supporting the Implementation of Comprehensive School-Based Mental Health in DC

The Alexander and Margaret Stewart Trust

CHHCS conducted interviews with key education and behavioral health leaders in DC and developed a resource for principals and other education leaders to highlight prominent school behavioral health frameworks being promoted in DC public and public charter schools.

Overview

With funding from the Alexander and Margaret Stewart Trust, CHHCS developed a resource for principals and other education leaders in the District of Columbia (DC) which provides an overview of the prominent school behavioral health frameworks being promoted to DC public and public charter schools. The frameworks were identified through interviews with key education and behavioral health leaders in DC. The final document includes basic definitions, main components, features, implementation considerations, and additional resources for each of the six identified frameworks, as well as information on their differences and similarities and how they complement each other. Two short case studies from DC that demonstrate how schools can successfully integrate two or more frameworks and brief summaries of some of the other popular programs and approaches are also included.

These efforts included the following components:

Conducting interviews with key informants from Washington, DC schools about effective practices for success
Collecting and synthesizing information on empirical research and best practices for the implementation of the identified behavioral health frameworks
Identifying schools that are successfully integrating two or more frameworks and conducting interviews with them to learn about their process, successes, challenges, and lessons learned
Developing a practice tool/guide that combines national best practices and qualitative research findings to support schools interested in adapting their student support approaches

Resources

Effectively Integrating School Behavioral Health Frameworks to Promote Student Success

DC Project AWARE Evaluation and Technical Assistance

Barrow Consulting Services, the Division of Health and Wellness of the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education, and the Coordinating Council on School Mental Health Data/Evaluation and Implementation subcommittees.

CHHCS provided evaluation and outcome-monitoring assistance for DC’s Project AWARE program focused on developing an integrated, comprehensive school mental health service delivery system.

Overview

CHHCS staff and associated faculty at GW worked with the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to evaluate efforts in Year 1 of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Project AWARE grant. DC’s Project AWARE program will leverage and build upon the District’s Comprehensive School Mental Health Plan to build an integrated service delivery model reaching at least 11,000 youth, implement comprehensive training opportunities reaching at least 1,500 educators and administrators, and engage the voices of youth and families in evidence-based, culturally-responsive and developmentally-appropriate mental health infrastructure design and implementation.

CHHCS/GW led data and evaluation activities, monitored outcomes, and ensured ongoing quality improvement to fulfill grant obligations. The goal of the evaluation was to describe short-term outcomes associated with Project AWARE, including the design and administration of a survey which measured students’ self-reported access to a trusted adult and knowledge of campus safety net team members. Specific activities also included:

Developing an evaluation work plan
Developing protocols and tools for data collection
Participation in regular meetings with project partners
Leading data, evaluation, and technical assistance activities around student referral processes
Analyzing and synthesizing evaluation data

Caring Across Communities

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Fifteen sites across the U.S. developed model mental health programs that engaged schools, families, students, mental health agencies and other community organizations to build effective, easily-accessible services for children and youth.

Overview

Each of the 15 funded sites set its objectives, target populations, community partners and services provided. Read about the projects below.

Asian American Recovery Services
Children’s Crisis Treatment Center
Children’s Hospital Boston
Duke University
Family Service Association of Bucks County
Imperial County Office of Education
Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic
Los Angeles Unified School District
Minneapolis Public Schools
NYU School of Medicine
Portland Public Schools
Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center
The Village Family Service Center
UNC at Chapel Hill
World Relief-Chicago

Resources