California Alliance of Child & Family Services’ Post

We are excited to share our latest report, "Providing Mental Health Education to Students is Critical – and Achievable." Mental health challenges are one of the leading causes of illness among young people, yet in 2020, California ranked 48th in the nation for providing needed mental health care to children. We can do better. https://lnkd.in/eW3nFmPX This report shines a light on the implementation of Senate Bill 224, which mandates mental health instruction in middle and high school health classes. However, many students are still left behind. Our brief calls for expanding mental health education to all California schools, so no student misses out on essential mental health resources. Half of all mental health disorders begin by age 14, yet the majority of youth needs go undetected and untreated. This is why expanding access to mental health education is critical to addressing the growing crisis. Join us in advocating for mental health education in every classroom! National Center for Youth Law California Alliance of Child & Family Services NAMI California The Children's Partnership (TCP)

Our students & staff are not safe. One of each killed in school yesterday. There are many contributing factors, and here is one that does not get enough ink: educators--both in public & private schools--are NOT mental health professionals, and yet we are responsible for helping students with demons beyond our knowledge and skill set. You may ask, "Well, you all have school counselors, right?" Yes, yes we do. They assist kids with typical stressors, provide academic & career guidance, teach emotional regulation, address attendance issues, and handle other day-to-day challenges young people face. They. Are. Not. Qualified. Mental. Health. Professionals. Unfortunately, QMHPs are hard to come by. We count ourselves among the fortunate as we have one in our school twice a week. She does not have a moment to spare, and our needs could keep her busy five days a week. Some schools have no one doing this work. And our hurting students hurt students...just as a female shooter did yesterday in Wisconsin. The system failed them all. I am sad and sick and scared. I trust you are, too, and I encourage you to talk to your district administrators and legislators about the danger of this void. When we cannot properly serve our students with mental health challenges, those students must be allowed to have their unique needs met in a different setting. Educators have been beating this drum for years. We need angry parents to make noise, too. Nothing changes if nothing changes.

How can we help schools and districts improve their multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) for social and emotional learning (SEL) and mental health on a statewide level? The new article that I had the privilege to write with my edc.org colleagues Shai Fuxman, Ed.D. and Eleanor Dong has just been published in the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning open access journal, Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy. Take a look and, if you have a chance, let us know what you think of this approach. https://lnkd.in/ep4vCnkk

To cultivate an inclusive and holistic educational environment for all students: Part II 2. Racial Weathering and Trauma-Informed Public Health Integration The connection between education and public health is not incidental; it is fundamental. The ideal community school would collaborate closely with the public health sector to address the impacts of trauma, particularly racial trauma. The concept of "racial weathering," coined by public health scholar Arline Geronimus, captures the cumulative health effects of chronic exposure to racism and discrimination. Geronimus and others have shown that communities of color, especially Black communities, experience premature aging and higher rates of chronic illness due to persistent racial stress. This understanding of racial weathering would be central to the school's approach. Rather than treating mental health or physical well-being as afterthoughts, the school would integrate health professionals directly into its day-to-day operations. Social workers, therapists, and community health workers would have offices in the school, offering not just crisis intervention but proactive care that attends to the emotional, psychological, and physical needs of students. For students with multiple ACEs, this trauma-informed approach would be essential for their success. #TraumaInformed #HealingOrganizedSchools #APedagogyOfLove

Responding to a recent Parliamentary Inquiry into Victoria's state education system, Centre for Community Child Health made the following recommendations to support the holistic needs of Victoria’s students: 💡Support children and families before they start school 💡Enable schools to take a whole child and whole school approach to redress inequities in learning, engagement, health and wellbeing outcomes 💡Co-design school-based responses for students experiencing mental health challenges or school refusal 💡Improve our understanding of student wellbeing and support schools to make data-driven decisions about how best to support the wellbeing of their students I support these recommendations and I'm deeply committed to doing my bit. For me, this means more than just providing therapy to individual children and families. Evidence shows that children who experience the best life outcomes have access to early, systemic, mental health support. Research by Dr Kate Renshaw found that educational settings can harness this potential by functioning as therapeutic communities to provide trauma-responsive care. I also recognise and value the role and impact of Early Childhood Teachers, Educators and Primary School Teachers in changing a child's life trajectory - which is why I'm focused on (metaphorically speaking) "opening the playroom door" and giving the therapeutic skills away. This weekend, Meg Ellard and I will be "doing our bit" through Playroom Therapy and giving away our therapeutic skills to over 40 Early Childhood professionals in a full day of training in Dr. Kate Renshaw Teacher's Optimal Relationship Approach (TORA). Because a waterfall begins with only a single drop of water 💧

Register for our upcoming webinar, Putting Young People First: Transitions from Primary to Secondary School Young people experience significant developmental, social, emotional, and academic changes before entering secondary education, often impacting their mental health and school outcomes. These transitions frequently coincide with the 11+ exams, which many students find particularly challenging. Evidence suggests that during this period, young people commonly exhibit lower self-esteem, poor socio-emotional adjustment, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and loss of appetite. Compounding these challenges are prevalent views that selective schools attract more intellectually capable students, leading to fragmented perceptions of self-worth and adverse mental health outcomes. According to a recent report by NHS Digital (2023), there is an urgent need to empower school resources to enhance mental well-being among young people aged 8-25. Alarmingly, the report highlights that 40% of young people feel uncomfortable discussing their mental health with adults, and only 32% would turn to school services for advice. This webinar will explore the critical need for increased support during pivotal transitions, such as moving from primary to secondary school. We will look at the existing information and advice on helping students manage the emotional and psychological challenges of moving to secondary school, considering views from young people, their parents, teachers, and mental health professionals. Join us to learn how we can better support our students during these key educational milestones. https://lnkd.in/ekbPffzX

Every year it seems like more and more students and teachers are reporting levels of depression and burnout. According to the CDC, in 2021, 42% of students felt persistently sad or hopeless, and 29% of students experienced poor mental health (Source: bit.ly/3wxeKzT). So, what’s going right for our kids when it seems like a lot feels wrong? The fact that spending on early intervention programs like SEL is helping mitigate these effects! 🙌 Did you know that for every $1 invested in prevention and early intervention programs, $2 to $10 is saved in other costs related to health care, legal, and education costs (Source: bit.ly/4bMuRbt)? Implementing SEL programs in schools helps give the next generation the skills to succeed during life’s challenges. We’re proud to say that with research-based SEL programs, we’re helping more kids develop better emotional management and social-emotional skills that can help them tackle everyday challenges. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eZ4UBff

Behavioural issues and unsafe behaviour have been exacerbated by the recent global pandemic. For children in disadvantaged communities this can have a profound impact on academic achievement, compounded by existing lack of access to mental health care. From an initial pilot developed by UNSW, we supported a cluster of six schools led by Ingleburn Public to develop a specialised ‘Parent Child Interaction Therapy’ (PCIT), focusing on teacher involvement to further enhance its impact, leading to over 700 children being screened. To learn more about the project click here: https://lnkd.in/ggQacUzT

We know the truth. We see how the current unfit-for-purpose, archaic, toxic and divisive education system continues to drive out its most vulnerable children and young people - and how it fails to (recruit and) retain its teachers. Last year, over 40,000 teachers left the profession and this number continues to grow. The overwhelming workload and burnout cited as key factors remain unaddressed, alongside the unbearable conditions that children and young people are being forced to work under. You know my stance - there must be NO room for ABUSIVE behaviour management tactics and a whole lot more emphasis on nurturing children’s holistic wellbeing - as opposed to the misguided and psychologically damaging obsession with mindless compliance and academic outcomes over mental health. At present, corridors, classrooms and conduct are causing children to spiral into sensory overload and dysregulation - all met with dysregulated teachers who are struggling to cope with their own poor mental health, let alone the children's. Embedding trauma-informed policies and practices across every school must be the way forward (not forgetting the government's broken promises to provide a mental health lead etc for every school, funding and resources for SEND and meaningful recruitment and retainment droves etc!) And contrary to what the Department for Education's ever-ignorant behaviour 'tsar' says, trauma-informed practice is no "fad". It is continually demonstrated to: Increase students' wellbeing Increase teachers' wellbeing Reduce incidents of dysregulated behaviour Enhance academic outcomes Improve attendance Promote a positive school climate.

Increasing teachers' well-being is one of the most ignored, yet important factors in our schools today. Most schools in this part of the country take their teachers for granted. There is bullying, very little payment, and favoritism among staff - too many issues to mention. Teachers are often viewed as having one of the poorest occupations one could delve into. This is where many begin to lose their passion/interest for this field and feel worthless about education itself. I support the notion of having not just student counselors or therapists in schools, but also teacher therapists. Teachers should feel a genuine sense of value and importance within the education system.