School Mental Health Works!

Amy D’Addario, Program Manager for Samaritan Wellness Screen and Amy Marsman, Senior Research Analyst with the Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health discuss the benefits of student mental health screening in schools and how schools might begin a universal screening program.

Episode Transcript 

Show Notes

Coalition for Expanding School-Based Mental Health in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction - Comprehensive School Mental Health 

Wisconsin School Mental Health Framework

Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health

OCMH Fact Sheet on Universal Screening 

OCMH School Mental Health Resources 

Samaritan Wellness Screen 

Candid - Mental Wellness Screening Systems

National Center for School Mental Health

School Mental Health Collaborative - Best Practices in Universal Screening: An Implementation Guide 

SAHMSA - Ready, Set, Go, Review: Screening for Behavioral Health Risk in Schools 

What happens when a school partners with a mental health therapist for the first time?  How does a therapist impact the world and work of the school social worker? What lessons will they learn along the way?

In this sixth episode, we dive deep into the story of two professionals responsible for supporting the mental health needs of students and families. The scene is Knapp Elementary School in the Racine Unified School District and our two key players are Kristine Jacobs, Child and Family Therapist with Children’s Wisconsin and Brenda Kunz, Knapp School Social Worker. Join Kristine and Brenda as they look back and unpack their first encounters with school-based mental health. Travel forward with them through the years as they explore the nuts and bolts of making collaboration a reality in their school/community partnership. This episode is a real page-turner – featuring plenty of happy endings (or really, new beginnings) for the teachers, students and families of Knapp Elementary!

Episode Transcript 

Show Notes

Coalition for Expanding School-Based Mental Health in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction - Comprehensive School Mental Health 

Wisconsin School Mental Health Framework

Children’s Wisconsin School-Based Mental Health

Racine Unified School District School-Based Mental Health

School Counselors and Social Workers

Wisconsin DPI - Pupil Services 

School-Based Mental Health Professionals in Wisconsin

Communities and schools seeking mental health solutions for students are true math whizzes - “blending and braiding” funding from philanthropy, local levy, state & federal grants and insurance to deliver the right answer for success.

In the fifth episode, Coalition Board Chair Julie Hueller (Manager, Racine Collaborative for Children's Mental Health) welcomes guests Kristen Waters Guetschow PhD, Director of Mental Health, Madison Metropolitan School District and Scott Radke, Chief Clinical Officer, Catalpa Health for a dialogue on lessons learned and challenges ahead. Kristen and Scott share the unique, problem-solving approaches that have emerged in their communities to provide a full range of mental health supports to students. Their conversation sheds light on the complexity and fragility of current funding structures and the importance of continued efforts to find solutions and bring sustainable services into Wisconsin’s future.

Episode Transcript 

Show Notes

Coalition for Expanding School-Based Mental Health in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction - Comprehensive School Mental Health 

Wisconsin School Mental Health Framework

Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health

Madison Metropolitan School District

Catalpa Health

CBITS - Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools

Connections for Mental Wellness - NE Wisconsin MH Collective Impact

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction defines the “Continuum of Mental Health Supports” as mental health promotion, early intervention, and treatment services, including crisis support.  Often organized based on the level of need, the continuum creates a proactive, responsive and flexible web of support for all student’s mental, behavioral, social and emotional strengths and needs as they shift over time, with a focus on building resilience and protective factors rather than categorizing students based on their perceived deficits.

In the fourth episode of our podcast, Carey Jacobson, Director of Clinical Services at Wellpoint Care Network, and Katrina Johnson, Connect Strength Project Manager, discuss how their organizations partner with schools to create a continuum of support.  Wellpoint offers Trauma Sensitive Schools training and consultation and also provides school-based mental health services.  Katrina is a regional trainer for Sources of Strength, a school-based suicide prevention program with an emphasis on peer leadership and curriculums for elementary and secondary students.

Episode Transcript 

Show Notes

Coalition for Expanding School-Based Mental Health in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction - Comprehensive School Mental Health 

Wisconsin School Mental Health Framework

Wellpoint Care Network - School Based Mental Health

Trauma Sensitive Schools Training and Consulting

Youth Mental Health First Aid (WISH Center Training)

Connect Strength

Sources of Strength 

Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health

Episode 3 features a conversation about collaborating to make school mental health work!  Jamie Ganske, Director of Mental Health and Resilience for Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District, discusses how Chippewa Falls has enacted comprehensive school mental health with the support of various community partnerships.  Dr. Leah Featherstone brings the provider perspective as the Vice President of Clinical Operations at Professional Services Group, which collaborates with several southeast Wisconsin school districts to provide school mental health services.  Both share how to start building school-community partnerships, ideas for engaging stakeholders including families and school staff, and reference the Communities of Practice available to both School Mental Health Navigators and School-Based Clinicians, an initiative of the Coalition for Expanding School-Based Mental Health in Wisconsin.

Episode Transcript

Show Notes

Coalition for Expanding School-Based Mental Health in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction - Comprehensive School Mental Health 

Wisconsin School Mental Health Framework

Cardinal Care - Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District 

Professional Services Group School-Based Mental Health 

Communities of Practice - School Mental Health Navigators or School-Based Clinicians

This episode will cover how to build a data set to tell your school-based mental health story and give the listener guidance on crafting how you want to tell your success story. Segments include Dr. David Cipriano’s professional journey to school-based mental health; overarching trends and themes; how school districts can use their data and engage community partners; school-based mental health data that is out there now and useful for your research; a few easily accessible resources folks can use to get started; and, using a school staff mental health survey to help tell your story.

Show Notes

Coalition for Expanding School-Based Mental Health in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction - Comprehensive School Mental Health 

Wisconsin School Mental Health Framework

Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Children’s Wisconsin School-Based Mental Health

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) 

School Personnel Survey 

Data Sharing Agreement Draft 

Please email [email protected] if you would like editable versions of the resources shared, or with any other questions for the Coalition!  

This inaugural episode of the series features a conversation between Coalition Board Chair, Julie Hueller of the Racine Collaborative for Children’s Mental Health and Board Treasurer, Kathy Markeland of the Wisconsin Association of Family & Children’s Agencies. Julie and Kathy discuss some of the foundational building blocks for growing student mental health systems by exploring the story of the community partnership in the Racine Unified School District.

Their conversation highlights the role that the Coalition plays in sharing best practice and advancing state policies to help Wisconsin communities advance school mental health initiatives. By leveraging the elements of the comprehensive model and expertise of Wisconsin networks, schools across the state are showing that school mental health works!

Show Notes

Coalition for Expanding School-Based Mental Health in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction - School Mental Health website

Wisconsin School Mental Health Framework

Wisconsin Association of Family and Children's Agencies

Spotlight on Racine Collaborative for Children's Mental Health Partnership

Racine Unified School District website

Dr. Ross Greene