As Elizabeth Prewitt reported in the recent blog post--President Trump signs opioid legislation with significant trauma provisions--the Support for Patients and Communities Act (H.R.6) includes significant provisions increasing trauma-informed best practices in multiple settings. Section 7134. Grants to improve trauma support services and mental health care for children and youth in educational settings authorizes $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023 for these grants. Applications will likely become available in the Spring of 2019, to be reviewed and awarded by the Department of Education. Grant money should be available in October of 2019.
Section 7134 details a number of ways funds can be used, allowing for state and local education agencies to choose evidence-based interventions that best utilize their existing framework, and tailor programs to fit each district’s unique culture and needs. Following are allowable uses of funds as detailed in H.R.6, with some examples of related programs being used today.
- Collaborative efforts between school systems and mental health systems to provide, develop or improve prevention, screening, referral, treatment and support services to students. This might include trauma screenings to identify students in need of specialized support, such as King County’s demonstration project that is introducing SBIRT into over 40 middle schools this year by linking them with community mental health agencies.
- Implementation of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports, or other trauma-informed models of support. One example of this is the restorative justice model being used in Fremont High School in Oakland, California.
- Professional development for teachers and other school leaders that fosters safe and stable learning environments, and improves school capacity to identify, refer and provide services to students in need of specialized support. Forefront Suicide Prevention in Schools is an example of this type of program, which engages multi-disciplinary teams and a robust model of on-going training and consultation, guiding schools in transforming its climate and practices to reduce student risk for suicide.
- Services at a full-service community school that focuses on trauma-informed supports, such as a full-time site coordinator at a recovery high school. Several dozen of these specialized programs in the US provide academics, chemical dependency counseling and life skills training.
- Engagement of families and communities in efforts to increase awareness of child and youth trauma, including all gatekeepers--individuals who have contact with a large number of youths on a regular basis such as teachers, physicians, juvenile justice workers, and mental health professionals.
- Technical assistance to school systems and mental health agencies. For example, Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) created the Children’s Behavioral Health Regional Pilot Project, which funds regional coordinators in two of their nine Educational Service Districts. Coordinators manage system-wide activities to increase access to care for students in need of behavioral health support.
Grant money can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of programs carried out under this section, as well as establish partnerships with Head Start agencies, preschool and childcare programs, and other entities who serve young children and their families.
This is an incredible opportunity for state and local educational agencies to receive significant funds toward programs that support the behavioral health of their students. Contact your state legislators and education agencies to let them know how you can support their efforts to apply for an H.R.6 grant next Spring. Let’s make every school a trauma-informed school.
--Cora Goss-Grubbs, Jennifer Hipolito, Kayla Cody, Madeleine Ferguson
MSW 2019 Candidates, University of Washington, School of Social Work
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