Resources

According to The School-Based Health Alliance, in order to have the greatest positive impact, school-based mental health services should be fully blended into the framework of the school and should follow a few best practices. 

School-based mental health services should: 

1. build from and complement a positive school climate. 
2. be universally available to all students, especially prevention and early intervention services. 
3. come from mental health providers who work with school staff in teams. 
4. have mental health providers who serve as a resource to teachers and other school staff. 
5. be provided to school districts in partnership with county and community agencies. 
6. be organized into a three tier system: universal, targeted, and intensive. 

In order to support your district’s efforts to build infrastructure and staff capacity within these best practices, we have identified vetted tools and provide them here to support your school-based mental health program. 

Trauma-Informed Practices in Schools: The National Association of School Psychologists has pointed out that trauma informed schools promote feelings of physical, social, and emotional safety in students. These resources will help you develop a shared understanding among staff about the impact of trauma and adversity on students and staff. 

• Trauma-Sensitive Schools Training Implementation Guide 
• Trauma-Sensitive Schools Training Handout Packet
• Educator Self-Care For Extraordinary Times: A Trauma-Sensitive Guide to Educator Wellness
• Safe Spaces - Foundations of Trauma-Informed Practice for Educational and Care Settings

Suicide Prevention: Resources to assist with compliance of AB 2246 and AB 1767. 

• CDE Model Suicide Policy 
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention- Model Policy 
• SAMHSA Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools 
• San Diego County of Education: Suicide Intervention Toolkit

The SHAPE System: SHAPE has the tools teams need to improve school mental health programming by providing school mental health quality assessment, resource library, custom reports and a library of free and low-cost screening and assessment measures. The following guides align with the MHTTC National School Mental Health Curriculum. 

• Overview of Domains and Indicators 
• Needs Assessment and Resource Mapping 
• Mental Health Screening 

Screening: ​School mental health screening is a systematic process to identify the strengths and needs of students. It supports the identification of students who may be experiencing or are at risk of experiencing social, emotional, and/or behavioral difficulties. The following national resources provide screening measure examples and guidance in how to support youth with early identification strategies. 

• SAMHSA Ready, Set, Go, Review: Screening for Behavioral Health in Schools Guidance 
• SHAPE: Screening and Assessment Library

 

For more information contact:
Mayu Iwatani, MSW, PPSC
Sr. Administrator, Mental Health and Wellness
Phone: (714) 966-4468
Email: miwatani@ocde.us​
 

The content included here is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you or your student are in crisis or you think you may have an emergency, call 911 immediately. If you're having suicidal thoughts, call 988 to talk to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in your area at any time (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline). ​