Mental Health Promotion for Children and Adolescents in Foster Care in Schools

GOAL:

The Goal of this grant is to:

Assist the State of Maryland’s Transformation Grant in its support of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Mental Hygiene Administration (MHA), Department of Human Resources (DHR), and local Departments of Social Services, in collaboration with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, and other state and local agencies and initiatives in integrating services and improving outcomes for children, adolescents, and graduates of Maryland’s foster care system.

This goal will be accomplished through an interconnected set of 7 objectives, with deliverables attached to each objective as below.  The plan presented below will be refined and expanded based on a meeting of key stakeholders, including child and adolescent system leaders, university staff, providers, youth and families, and policymakers to be held by October, 2007.  Representatives at this meeting will be drawn from three primary interdisciplinary and interagency state workgroups: 1) The DHR Committee on Access to Services for Children in Foster Care – Education, 2) the DHR Committee on Access to Services for Children in Foster Care – Mental Health, and 3) the MHA and MSDE sponsored Blueprint Workgroup on School Mental Health. 

OBJECTIVES AND DELIVERABLES:

Objective 1:  Arrive at an understanding of foster care in Maryland through analysis of youth and family needs, and resource and system assessment.

Deliverable: Complete a user-friendly review of youth in foster care, their needs, and statewide initiatives and resources focusing on mental health outreach, support and intervention to these youth in schools by January 15, 2008.

Objective 2: Through broad literature reviews and Internet searches of local, state, national and international data sources, organize information on best and evidence-based practices for mental health promotion and intervention for youth in foster care in schools.

Deliverable: Complete an Issue Brief on this topic, broadly disseminate it throughout Maryland, and post it on the website of the University of Maryland Center for School Mental Health (CSMH, see http://csmh.umaryland.edu) by December 15, 2007.

Objective 3: Develop a training curriculum for education, mental health, child welfare, and juvenile services staff, and families and youth on issues related to effective school-based outreach, support, mental health promotion and intervention for youth in foster care in Maryland Schools. 

Deliverables: Complete draft of curriculum by March 15, 2008. Broadly obtain feedback from diverse stakeholders, and complete curriculum by May 15, 2008.

Objective 4: Conduct training on effective school mental health promotion and intervention for youth in foster care.

Deliverable: Present the curriculum and conduct workshop training in at least one statewide meeting, and one jurisdictional meeting by July 15, 2008.

Objective 5: Provide statewide information and technical support on effective school mental health promotion and intervention for youth in foster care through the website, http://www.schoolmentalhealth.org/ and a listserv targeted to key leaders in each of Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions. 

Deliverables: Develop a list of key jurisdictional leaders reflecting family and youth advocacy, education (general and special), child welfare, child and adolescent mental health, juvenile services, and physical health services for youth and send to these leaders in all 24 Maryland jurisdictions an announcement about this initiative and invitation to be on the listserv by February 15, 2008.  Start listserv announcements and include a section on the http://www.schoolmentalhealth.org/ website on effective school mental health promotion and intervention for youth in foster care by April 15, 2008.

Objective 6: Through in-kind resources of the University of Maryland School Mental Health Program operating in Baltimore City and Prince Georges County, test strategies for effective identification, outreach to and provision of evidence-based services to youth in foster care and their families in at least two schools. Develop a feedback loop so that findings from these local examples inform objectives 1 through 5. 

Deliverable: Complete a qualitative case study of the experiences in these schools and disseminate it through the listserv and post on http://www.schoolmentalhealth.org/ by June 15, 2008.

Objective 7:  In conjunction with a National Community of Practice on School Mental Health, sponsored by the CSMH and the IDEA Partnership (see http://www.sharedwork.org/), develop a practice group emphasizing school mental health – child welfare connections and focusing on the Maryland experience as a national example. 

Deliverables: Complete initial strategic planning for this practice group by December 15, 2008, and convene its first meeting by March 30, 2008.

EVALUATION:

Diverse stakeholders will provide quantitative and qualitative feedback on the training curriculum and this information will be summarized.  All training events will be evaluated through written evaluations completed by participants consistent with the CSMH’s long history of conducting and evaluating high quality training.  A mechanism to evaluate information and support provided through the listserv and www.schoolmentalhealth.org will be implemented. The case study of the experiences in the two schools will include evaluative information on processes associated with service delivery; student, family and teacher perceptions of services; and changes shown by students who receive services. An integrative report summarizing project accomplishments, challenges and ideas to overcome challenges, including each of these measures will be completed and forwarded by July 31, 2008. 

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