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The Power of Family-Teacher Partnerships

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Explaining abuse to kids

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Services for parents that have put their children up for adoption.

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On Your Feet Foundation provides the necessary support and services po

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On Your Feet Foundation provides the necessary support and services post-placement birthparents deserve, in order to heal and thrive.

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Learn how to meaningfully interact with your child in fun ways!

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The Family and Children’s Center is excited to offer a free program where parents can learn to interact with their infant or young children in new ways! The Brain Train is focused on promoting…

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HRC has tons of resources to help LGBTQ+ youth.

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The Youth Well-Being program at HRC Foundation has compiled the following direct service resources for LGBTQ+ youth and families.

The information about providers and services contained on this website does not constitute endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation by HRC or HRC Foundation. HRC and HRC Foundation cannot confirm the level of confidentiality provided by each organization or service, and some crisis services may involve legal guardians and even law enforcement as deemed necessary. It is your responsibility to verify the level of confidentiality when communicating with a service or organization.

There are hundreds of local LGBTQ+ community and youth centers across the US that can also provide a variety of youth services.
CenterLink is a membership organization of local LGBTQ+ centers and programs.

The Human Rights Campaign reports on news, events and resources of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation that are of interest to the general public and further our common mission to support the LGBTQ+ community.

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Direct Online and Phone Support Services for LGBTQ Youth

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The Youth Well-Being program at HRC Foundation has compiled the following direct service resources for LGBTQ+ youth and families.

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Need help paying for utilities? Check out this program from the Kroc Center!

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The Salvation Army is helping to keep the lights on for families across St. Joseph County. Learn more and make a donation to combat poverty right here in Michiana.

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The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federal program that provides reimbursements for nutritious meals and snacks to eligible children who are enrolled for care at participating child care facilities and daycare homes. 4Cs provides reimbursements for meals served to children and youth enrolled in daycare facilities.

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You've tried holding it together. But, you don't need to struggle your way through this!

The South Bend location is built to help any mental health struggle.

There are separate programs for high-level psychiatric care, adolescent treatment, and innovative inpatient or outpatient options for anxiety, depression, trauma, or substance use - including medical drug or alcohol detox.

Life-Changing Mental Health & Addiction Services Near You Now

This South Bend rehab is the only facility in the state licensed to treat every level of both mental health and substance use.

Programs include inpatient care like medical detox, psychiatric care, and residential rehab, as well as outpatient programs like Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP), Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), and Outpatient Programs (OP) - with separated treatment for ages 12-17.

With more therapy options than anywhere else, you can find exactly what works best for you here.

Gold-Standard Therapies

Treatment here is never one-size-fits-all. Based on your specific situation, you blend therapies proven by thousands of research papers with holistic and newer, cutting-edge options.

Medical Detox

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT)

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

Psycho-Educational Therapy

Trauma-Focused Therapies

Gambling Addiction Therapy

Family Therapy Program

Relapse Prevention & Aftercare planning

Alumni Program

Holistic Therapies

Holistic options help calm your nervous system after deep therapeutic work. You unlock subconscious blocks and build outlets for long-term well-being.

Reiki Therapy

Equine Outings

Yoga

Meditation

Fitness & Nutrition

Art Therapy

Music Therapy

Adventure & Recreational Therapy

Innovative Therapies

The team here obsesses over the latest clinical research to offer cutting-edge options not available at other treatment centers in the state.

Upscale Amenities

Treatment here is never boring. In-between clinical sessions, you relax, build self-esteem and bond with peers for support long after treatment ends.

Treatment Covered by Insurance

Insurance can cover all or most of the cost of treatment here. Call 24/7 to get a specific estimate. It's free and 100% confidential.

Verify Your Insurance

Our nationally recognized team includes medical doctors, clinical therapists, certified peer coaches, and support staff like the on-site chef. You're supported by people who not only know how to help you, but also truly care.

Chief Medical Officer

Hundreds of 5-Star Reviews

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Indiana Center for Recovery - Alcohol & Drug Rehab Center Mishawaka South Bend

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Expert mental health and addiction treatment in South Bend for drugs, alcohol, anxiety, and depression. Compassionate care, transportation provided.

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YSB offers numerous programs for youth in crisis.

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Our community is stronger when all youth are safe, and have the opportunity to reach their full potential. YSB offers a multitude of programs and services with a central objective of ensuring the safety and well-being of youth.

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Mental Illness and the Family: Recognizing Warning Signs and How to Cope | Mental Health America

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Most people believe that mental health conditions are rare and “happen to someone else.” In fact, mental health conditions are common and widespread. An estimated 44 million Americans suffer from some form of mental disorder in a given year.

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Go back to school and earn that high school diploma!

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School Age Mothers Program - South Bend Community School Corporation

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School Age Mothers Program - South Bend Community School Corporation

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A free camp to help children who have been affected by parental substance abuse.

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Camp Mariposa is held six times per year and begins at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and runs through 11:30 Sunday. Please know that sometimes dates change, and if they do, you will be informed and the dates on this page will be updated. Please watch your mail and texts for current information. Camp dates for the year are:

January 10-12, 2025

March 7-9, 2025

May 2-4, 2025

September 5-7, 2025

November 7-9, 2025

December 5-7, 2025

​Teen Camp is held six times per year and begins at 5 p.m. on Friday and runs through 7 p.m. Saturdays. Transportation is provided. Buses take campers from Oaklawn campuses to camp and back. Camp dates for the year are:

January 17-18, 2025

March 21-22, 2025

May 16-17, 2025

August 22-23, 2025

October 3-4, 2025

November 14-15, 2025

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Mental Health Programs for Children | Oaklawn

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Oaklawn provides residential programs designed to help youth grow emotionally, physically and spiritually.

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Earn your High School Equivalent Diploma

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SBCSC Adult Education Portal – Portal for South Bend Adult Education

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Take the next step toward your future...today!

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You can apply for a grant to take college courses.

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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Adult Student Grant is specifically designed to meet the unique needs of working adults starting or completing an associate degree, bachelor's degree or certificate by providing a grant up to $2,000 for the academic year. The grant may be used toward tuition and regularly assessed fees.
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Applicant must:

Be an Indiana resident and a U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen;

Be financially independent as determined by the FAFSA and demonstrate financial need*;

Be enrolled, or plan to enroll, in a course of study leading to an associate or first bachelor's degree, or a certificate at Ivy Tech Community College or Vincennes University;

Be enrolled in at least six (6) credit hours or their equivalent in any academic term;

Maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined by your institution;

Complete at least eighteen (18) credit hours or their equivalent in the previous academic year to renew; and

Meet any other minimum criteria established by the Commission.

HOW TO APPLY

Submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at FAFSA.gov.

Submit a complete Adult Student Grant application through ScholarTrack.

Students will need to create a Student ScholarTrack Account to complete the application.

The scholarship is first come, first served and you must have the FAFSA and application complete to reserve your spot.

The 2024-2025 Adult Student Grant award offers will be calculated to align with the table below. The application for the 2024-2025 academic year opens in ScholarTrack on June 1, 2024.

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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The Adult Student Grant is specifically designed to meet the unique needs of working adults starting or completing an associate degree, bachelor's degree or certificate by providing a grant up to $2,000 for the academic year. The grant may be used toward tuition and regularly assessed fees.

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Services to help with recovery from domestic violence, sexual assault, substance use, and mental health.

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Through our recovery services, we help individuals address past trauma and current struggles. Learn more about our services today.

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Programs for clothing, books, dental care, and more.

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©Christ Child Society of South Bend IN · 2366 Miracle Lane · Mishawaka, Indiana 46615 · (574)288-6028

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Nothing is ever too much to do for a child.

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A place to go when you need to stay safe.

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Welcome to Hannah's House!

We believe that every baby deserves a healthy start, and every mom deserves care during this important stage of life. Hannah's House is a faith-based organization that empowers pregnant women on their journey towards a life transformation. Whatever a woman may need during this time in her pregnancy, Hannah's House is here to help.

Believing in the sanctity of life, Hannah's House offers safe housing for pregnant women along with a three-phase program that specifies a pathway
for her to grow in education, wellness, faith, health, budgeting, self-sufficiency and planning. We serve women by providing guidance and direction to benefit them and their children. ​

These three phases (Leep, Killilea, and S.E.L.F.) can be completed in succession from the time of pregnancy through the child's third Birthday. All are aligned for the development and growth of the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of participants.
​
Are you pregnant? Hannah's House can help.
We care about you and your story. If you are struggling to prepare and provide for your baby, we can help. Your first step begins here!

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Hannah's House of Michiana | Maternity Home

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We believe that every baby deserves a healthy start, and every mom deserves care during this important stage of life. Hannah's House is a faith-based organization that empowers pregnant women on...

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Mental health education and help for the whole family.

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Home - Mental Health Awareness of Michiana

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Mental Health Advocates for Michiana Mental well-being is a goal everyone can share. Our goal is to promote education on a variety of mental health issues that affect our community. Volunteer Seek Assistance Check Your Mental health Taking a mental health screening is an easy way to determine if you are experiencing symptoms of a […]

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Programs for ages 12 and up to do together.

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The LGBTQ Center is Northern Indiana's only Center dedicated to the promotion of LGBTQ+ experiences and inclusivity. Our purpose is to see a community where every individual is valued, respected, and empowered.

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A great resource for people of the community to connect.

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Trees, Inc. was started in January 2015 and driven by the need to do our part to stem the rash of transgender suicides and murders.

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La Casa de Amistad has numerous programs for adults and children, including tutoring to learn English.

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Resources to help you help your child.

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How to talk about Mental Health with people you are close to.

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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

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How to Talk About Mental Health - Friends and Family Members

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Anyone can experience mental health problems. Friends and family can make all the difference in a person’s recovery process.

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NCMH (National Centre for Mental Health)

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Bipolar disorder (depression & mania) - causes, symptoms, treatment & pathology

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Adult Learners | Resources | Learn More Indiana

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Find resources for adult students pursuing higher education in Indiana.

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A list of where to turn for help with: mortgage and rent, utilities, etc.

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Housing Assistance – St. Joe County Public Library

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Housing Assistance – St. Joe County Public Library

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Explore the programs at Boys & Girls Clubs of the Northern Indiana Corridor! From academic support to leadership development and enrichment activities, we provide safe, engaging opportunities for youth to learn and grow.

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Marketing Communications: Web | University of Notre Dame

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Off-campus educational initiative of the University of Notre Dame in partnership with Northeast Neighborhood residents of South Bend.

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Teaching kids about a growth mindset

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How to Explain Growth Mindset to Kids: Neuroplasticity Activities

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Neuroplasticity is the science behind growth mindset. When kids understand neuroplasticity, their perception of their own abilities changes. It becomes much easier for them to understand growth mindset and embrace mistakes, obstacles, and challenges. In this article, we’ll provide helpful resources and activities to teach your children or students about their brains ability to grow and change.

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What is Neuroplasticity for Kids

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Brain Jump with Ned the Neuron: Challenges Grow Your Brain

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Brain Growth: Neuroplasticity in the Classroom

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Brain Growth:  Neuroplasticity in the Classroom

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What are Neurons?

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Neuron Song | Growth Mindset and Neuroplasticity for Kids | I HAVE A GO

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What is Neuroplasticity for Older Kids

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Mindfulness for Children - Habit & Neuroplasticity

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Neuroplasticity Tools for Parents

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Relational Trauma, Neuroplasticity, and Tools for Parents

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For parents, neurobiology now provides insights into how our memories affect our everyday interactions with our children, and helps us understand how we can repair the damage left by our own difficult early experiences.

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Parent Tips for Early Learning

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Neural Plasticity In Infant & Toddler Learning: Tips For Every Parent - Healthy Planet School

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As a parent, you want to know the best way to support your child's development. How can you prepare the most effective environment for enhancing his/her ability to learn, engage with others, and thrive in an ever-changing world?

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What Does Neuroplasticity Mean for Parents?

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The research on learning and memory shows that learning is possible and memory can be enhanced across the lifespan, unless the brain is compromised by disease or injury, and even then there is more room for growth than was previously thought possible. Neural plasticity-the way the brain changes across the lifespan-is the mechanism that powers the possibility of change and growth over time.

The brain's early development is shaped by genetic factors working together with experience. One of the most important early brain-building experiences is sometimes called "serve-and-return," a caregiver 's affectionate and attentive mirroring of infants' early babbling, facial expressions, and gestures. When that doesn't happen-or if it is unreliable or inappropriate-the baby's brain doesn't form as expected. This can lead to problems with learning or behavior.

During childhood, from three to eleven, brain development is not as explosive as it was in the early years, or as it will be again in the teen years. That does not mean nothing is happening through this period, or that caregivers should relax, and not worry about their children's brains. Childhood is a time for exploration, learning, and consolidation, and for acquiring good habits of mind that will form a solid foundation for future learning and development. It is also a time when sleep, exercise, and nutrition continue to have a significant impact on brain development. These lifestyle choices make a difference to the volume of gray matter, which is being formed in the brain through this period.

For best brain development, children should be exploring widely, gaining skills across many areas-academic, artistic, physical, social, emotional, and cognitive-and establishing a strong sense of themselves as competent and valuable. That confidence will be sorely tested when puberty begins.
Implications: What Does the Research on Brain Development Mean for Parents?
Neuroscientist Jay Giedd told PBS's "Frontline" that, "The more technical and more advanced the science becomes, often the more it leads us back to some very basic tenets. ... With all the science and with all the advances, the best advice we can give is things that our grandmother could have told us generations ago: to spend loving, quality time with our children."

Here are some recommendations for parents wanting to support their children's optimal brain development, from conception to adulthood:

1. Ensure a healthy pregnancy. Fetal brains develop best when pregnant mothers have a healthy well-balanced diet, get enough sleep, abstain from drugs and alcohol, enjoy a safe, clean environment, experience low stress, and get the right kinds of exercise. That kind of pregnancy is not always possible, but it's worth working to achieve as much of this as possible.

2. Be warm, present, patient, and loving. Starting at childbirth, relationships and connections make the biggest difference in how a child's brain will develop. Brain development goes best for kids who experience respectful, kind, warm, and patient adults, starting at birth. Parents can support their children's developing brains by listening to them, and by showering them dependably with patience, love, and positive regard. The more difficult the child or adolescent, the more important (and the more challenging) this is.

3. Support healthy habits of sleep, nutrition, and exercise. Just like the growing body, the growing brain needs adequate sleep, good nutrition, and ample physical exercise, preferably outdoors.

4. Provide your infant and young child with rich experiences in every domain. Synapses form most prolifically in those areas of a child and adolescent's brain that are being stimulated, in the areas where there is focused interest and many kinds of experience. The areas of the brain that aren't used get pruned out, in a dramatic example of the "use it or lose it" principle. This is a compelling reason to expose children and teens to many different kinds of musical, linguistic, mathematical, natural, artistic, sensory, social, and physical experiences.

5. Welcome obstacles, failures, and "bad" behavior. Problems usually aren't fun, but they are the best possible learning opportunities for you and your child. Obstacles, failures, and misbehavior show you what your child hasn't learned yet, and needs to work on, with your help.

6. Stay positive. Neural plasticity means that learning is possible in pretty much every area, and across the lifespan. This is just as true for children with learning problems as for anyone else. If a child has trouble in one area or another (say mathematics or social intelligence), their brain is still capable of mastering that area, no matter what their teacher or anyone else might say.

7. Keep growing and learning. Neural plasticity applies to adults too. Even into old age, barring serious brain degeneration, people can learn other languages, take music lessons, become more patient, write books, follow their interests, and explore the world. Parents are better role models for learning and brain development when they're happily productive and fulfilled in their own lives.
Further Resources
Nature and Nurture in Early Child Development, Edited by Daniel P Keating

The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind, Survive Everyday Parenting Struggles, and Help Your Family Thrive, by Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson

" Brain Architecture," by Harvard University Center on the Developing Child

" Frequently Asked Questions About Brain Development," by Zero to Three

" Neuroscience for Kids," by Eric Chudler

" Brain Development in Childhood, " by Yasuyuki Taki and Ryuta Kawashima

" InBrief: The Science of Early Child Development," by Harvard University Center on the Developing Child

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What Does Neural Plasticity Mean for Parents?

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Brain science is yielding practical findings for wise parenting. Be loving and patient: it's not fair or useful to punish foolish behavior that results from a brain in progress.

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Exercises for Settling Your Mind

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5 Mindfulness Exercises for Kids 🌟😊 | Cosmic Kids

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Calming Deep Breathing Exercises

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Mindful Meditation: 5-Minute Deep Breathing Mindful Relaxation

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How to Support Elementary Students

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Three interesting things about neuroplasticity:

1. Humans can learn new things throughout their lifetime because of neuroplasticity.

2. The brain is made up of billions of neurons that send messages. As we learn something new, the brain is making stronger connections between neurons.

3. When learning something new, more practice means neural connections become stronger. Because of these connections, new skills become easier over time.

Why is neuroplasticity important?

Neuroplasticity is also really exciting because it can help children understand how to have a growth mindset. A growth mindset involves knowing that brains can grow. This means that intelligence, talents, and abilities can develop over time. They are not fixed in place.

Think, for example, about when you learned something new. Perhaps it was a musical instrument, a new language, how to ride a bike, a new job, how to change a diaper, or how to teach a particular lesson. It may have been hard at first, but it likely got easier with time.

Maintaining a growth mindset, or telling yourself that you can do a hard task and that the brain is growing with practice, probably helped you reach the goal of that new skill. If children can understand that they can learn and grow with practice, that growth mindset will help them persevere and have patience as they grow up.

What can you do about it?

We've compiled a few activities that might help parents and teachers teach children in grades K-5 about neuroplasticity.

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How the Brain Grows, Neuroplasticity Elementary Students

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Three interesting things about neuroplasticity: Humans can learn new things throughout their lifetime because of neuroplasticity. The brain is made up of billions of neurons that send messages. As we learn something new, the brain is making stronger connections between neurons. When learning something new, more practice means neural connections become stronger.

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Exercises to Strengthen Your Brain

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9 Brain Exercises to Strengthen Your Mind

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How Neuroplasticity Impacts Learning

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Neuroplasticity and its impact on learning

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What Does Neuroplasticity Mean for Teachers?

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Neuroplasticity: What Does It Mean for Educators?

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How does neuroplasticity affect teaching and learning? We have background information and tips for special educators to aid instruction.

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Rainbow Breathing

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Rainbow Relaxation: Mindfulness for Children

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Mindful Parenting Tips

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When we teach mindfulness to kids, we equip them with tools to build self-esteem, manage stress, and skillfully approach challenges. Explore our guide on how to introduce mindfulness and meditation to your children—at any age.

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Mindfulness Exercises for the Classroom

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These days, the answer to the question, "Should we prioritize academics or social-emotional learning in schools?" is a firm, "Yes to both." Academic skills are of course essential for children's lifelong success. But without intentional social-emotional development, students may not learn how to process their emotions and connect with others in healthy ways. That's where mindfulness can come in.

If you're not sure exactly what mindfulness is, here's a quick recap. Mindfulness involves both an awareness and an acceptance of both the world around us and our internal experiences.[3] Mindful people tend to focus more on the present instead of ruminating on the past or future, and they cultivate a curiosity towards their thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations.

Let's go over some of the benefits of mindfulness and how it relates to social-emotional learning (SEL). Then, we'll share 51 tips and activities for teaching elementary students how to practice mindfulness.

Why Mindfulness? Consider the Social-Emotional Benefits

Why teach mindfulness in our schools? The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has linked mindfulness to two core social-emotional skills: self-regulation and self-awareness. These skills teach students not only how to recognize their thoughts, emotions, and actions, but also how to react in positive ways.

According to brain imaging research, practicing mindfulness can alter brain structure in a way that can improve a student's reaction to stress.[1] It thickens the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for perception and reasoning, and increases blood flow in the brain.[2] And not only does mindfulness training reduce stress levels, it can also help alleviate anxiety or depression.[4,5]

A final reason to try mindfulness in your classroom? It can be especially helpful for children with learning disabilities, particularly attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). One study found that children with learning disabilities who received mindfulness training earned better grades and had fewer behavioral issues compared to before they started the program.[6] Children in special education programs better connected with their peers after mindfulness training.[7]

Overall, mindfulness has something to offer for every child in your class. It can relieve student stress, reduce bullying rates, and help children with learning disabilities or special needs develop stronger SEL skills. If you haven't yet tried mindfulness activities with your class, now may be the time to see just how much they can benefit your students.

29 Individual Activities for Teaching Mindfulness to Children

The best way to show students how to be mindful is to practice it in class. These 51 engaging mindfulness activities can help your students develop self-awareness and self-regulation skills.

1. Heartbeat Exercise: As your students monitor their heartbeat and breathing after exercise, they'll learn to become mindful of how their body feels.

2. Pinwheel Breathing: This exercise helps students practice deep breaths by using a pinwheel to show them how.

3. Muscle Relaxation: How often are we truly mindful of the muscles in our body? With this activity, children can start practicing mindfulness around how they tense or relax their muscles.

4. Five Senses Exercise: Did you know that you can use all five of your senses while being mindful? This activity can show you how!

5. The Present Moment Worksheet: This free mindfulness worksheet teaches young students all about what it means to be present.

6. Making Mindful Observations: Add a little social-emotional learning to your science lessons by teaching students to make mindful observations.

7. Teaching STOP Mindfulness: Teach kids the core components of mindfulness through the acronym STOP: Stop, Take a breath, Observe, and Proceed.

8. Breathing Boards: Have your students follow the line with their fingers as they take calm, measured breaths.

9. Mindful Glitter Jar: This adorable craft can give students a visual example of how their thoughts settle down after practicing mindfulness.

10. Mindful Eating: What student doesn't love a lesson that involves snacks? With this creative mindfulness exercise, students can learn to be more aware of what they're eating.

11. Smiling Minds App: Try out this free mindfulness app for kids with your students to practice short meditations and other exercises.

12. Quiet Time: Adding a little quiet time to your classroom schedule can give students room to de-stress and focus on the present.

13. Nature Walk: Embark on an outdoor walk that will encourage your students to engage all of their five senses in observation.

14. Rainbow Bubble Breathing Story: For younger students, this "story" about a rainbow bubble can be a great visual for practicing controlled breathing.

15. Positive Affirmations: Check out this list of 125 positive mantras your students can use while meditating or reflecting on their strengths.

16. Build-a-Face Story Stones: This activity can help students learn to observe and recognize different emotions.

17. Blindfolded Taste Test: Taste is a powerful sensation, and this activity can be especially helpful for teaching students to analyze different sensations.

18. Being Mindful of Anger: Anger can be difficult for kids to process and even tougher for them to react to in a healthy way. Use this quick meditation script to help students calm down when they feel overwhelmed.

19. Mindful Journaling Prompts: Try some of these journaling prompts with older students to help them reflect on internal and external experiences.

20. Emotion Octopus Craft: Learning about our emotions has never looked so adorable! Let each child put together an emotion octopus, then have a class discussion on feelings.

21. Today I Feel...: Hang this Muppet-themed chart in your classroom and teach students how to recognize the emotions they feel each day.

22. Square Breaths: Square breathing is a simple yet effective way to help students calm down when they're feeling overwhelmed.

23. Stop and Think Worksheet: Every action we do can cause a positive or negative reaction in others. Pass this worksheet out to your students, then discuss why it matters to consider others' reactions.

24. Raisin Exercise: Hand out a raisin to each of your students, then practice observing it using each of the five senses. Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center recommends doing this exercise multiple times to get the full effect, but even once can be a helpful experience for your students.

25. Draw Your Breath: This art exercise can help students gain self-awareness of their breath and use that knowledge to move towards relaxation.

26. Melt or Freeze?: Mindfulness is a great way to help students manage their impulses. This activity helps students sort possible actions into impulsive ("melt") and responsible ("freeze").

27. Tuning into Different Moods: If we're overwhelmed or distracted, it can be hard to remember to stay mindful of our emotions. This exercise requires just a few minutes as you teach students to observe what they're feeling in the moment.

28. Emotions Bottles: While we definitely don't want students to "bottle up" their feelings, this activity uses the Pixar movie Inside Out to help children name and claim their emotions.

29. Mindful Coloring: Did you know that coloring is a great way to practice mindfulness for both children and adults?[8] Use these printable coloring pages for a quiet activity to relax and focus on the present.

21 Group Activities for Teaching Mindfulness to Children

Group mindfulness activities can help children practice what they have learned and discuss what it means to be grounded in the present. These 21 activities-including classroom ideas as well as home activities for families-are a great place to start.

30. Yoga for Kids: Check out this video of mindfulness exercises that will help elementary students practice yoga through age-appropriate and imaginative games.

31. Rainbow Walk: Go on a walk with your students and encourage them to find something red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet as a quick way to practice mindfulness.

32. Mindful Quote Jar: This DIY craft (#3 on the list) will help you make a jar full of mindfulness quotes so you can share little insights with your students every day.

33. Mindfulness Bingo: Give your students the challenge of completing as many activities as possible on the mindfulness bingo sheet. Then, hold a class discussion on how many they did and how the mindfulness activities made them feel.

34. Red Light, Green Light: This game is a classic P.E. staple, but did you know that you can use it to teach observation-a core part of mindfulness?

35. What Would You Do?: Use this worksheet to help children become more aware of their actions and emotions in real-life situations.

36. Root to Rise Activity: This activity combines yoga and meditation to help students mindfully practice self-confidence and peace.

37. Assessing vs. Judging Others: Do you know the difference between observing and judging another person? Teach your students how to assess others mindfully with this social-emotional learning activity.

38. Freeze Dance Mindfulness: Have a freeze dance party with your class as a fun way to engage and teach your students about mindfulness.

39. Body Scan: Try this quick body scan meditation as a class to focus on emotions and physical sensations.

40. Gift of You: This festive activity is a great way to teach mindfulness around the holidays.

41. What Are You Doing? Activity: This activity teaches students both how to listen mindfully and pay better attention to their actions.

42. Lots of Feelings: Share this take-home activity with families so they can help children practice recognizing and processing emotions.

43. Read a Book About Mindfulness: Put together a story-time read aloud with this list of 11 best mindfulness books for young learners from Read Brightly.

44. Who Am I? Game: This classic game encourages students to pay attention and make observations, which can be helpful for developing mindfulness.

45. Mindful or Unmindful? Worksheet: To make sure your students grasp what mindfulness is and is not, fill out this worksheet as a class.

46. Mindful Listening: Listening is an essential part of mindfulness. Use this resource to show your students how to become mindful listeners in school and elsewhere.

47. Guided Meditation: Demonstrating how to meditate to your little learners can be tough. With this guided meditation designed for children, you can help them learn how.

48. Mindfulness Safari: With this mindfulness safari, you can learn to pay attention to the world around you from the comfort of your schoolyard.

49. What Mood Are You Generating in Others?: Using this lesson plan as a guide, discuss with your students how everyday actions affect their classmates and what they can do to put themselves in another person's shoes.

50. Mindfulness Scavenger Hunt: As students check off each box in this modified scavenger hunt, they will get closer and closer to practicing mindfulness.

51. Mindful Gratitude Exercise: When students learn to be mindful of what they're thankful for, they can find greater contentment in their lives.

Sources:

1. Davidson, R. and Lutz, A. Buddha's brain: neuroplasticity and meditation. IEEE Signal Process Magazine, 2008, 25(1), pp. 174-176.

2. Weare, K. Evidence for the Impact of Mindfulness on Children and Young People. The Mindfulness in Schools Project, April 2012, pp. 1-12.

3. Greater Good Magazine. Mindfulness Definition: What Is Mindfulness? Retrieved from berkeley.edu: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/mindfulness/definition.

4. Napoli, M.N., Krech, P.R., and Holley, L.C. Mindfulness Training for Elementary School Students. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 2005, 21(1), pp. 99-125.

5. Meiklejohn, J. et. al. Integrating Mindfulness Training into K-12 Education: Fostering the Resilience of Teachers and Students. Mindfulness, 3(4), pp. 291-307.

6. Leland, M. Mindfulness and Student Success. Journal of Adult Education, 2015, 44(1), pp. 19-24.

7. Benn, R., Akiva, T., Arel, S., and Roeser, R. W. Mindfulness training effects for parents and educators of children with special needs. Developmental Psychology, 2012, 48(5), pp. 1476-87.

8. Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials. 3 Reasons Adult Coloring Can Actually Relax Your Brain. May 27, 2020. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/3-reasons-adult-coloring-can-actually-relax-brain/.

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Mindfulness Exercises for Kids in the Classroom - Waterford.org

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Use these 51 mindfulness activities to help children recognize and manage their thoughts, emotions, and actions-all important SEL skills.

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Calming Meditation with a Story About a Pirate

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Happy Minds - Sleep Meditation & Bedtime Stories

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Mindfulness Meditation for Kids THE MINDFUL PIRATE ~ 10 Mins Guided Meditation for Children

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Peaceful Meditation on the Beach

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Mindful Meditation for Kids: A Peaceful Beach Meditation

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What is Neuroplasticity?

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What is Neuroplasticity?

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Exercises to Help Boost Your Child's Brain Power

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Boost Kids Brain Power, Memory, Focus, & Concentration with these exercises | Brain activities

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Benefits of Teaching Neuroplasticity to Kids

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Benefits of Teaching Children About Neuroplasticity

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Teaching the science a brain’s change over time can help students see intelligence as something that can develop, rather than innate and unchangeable.

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Brain Yoga Exercises for Your Kids

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Super Brain Yoga For Children | 5 Brain Exercises For Better Language Learning

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Neuroplasticity Lesson Example

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Neuroplasticity Lesson, growth mindset |

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Here is one of my favorite lessons teaching neuroplasticity. I had several requests for this from an Instagram post so for anyone who wants it, here you go! It is from my Mindset Matters (2016) curriculum book (pg. 68-69), but slightly revamped. I'm putting it here for easy access.

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Youth and Family Brain Resources

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Explore Center for BrainHealth’s family-focused programs that customize SMART Brain Training for youths, including The Youth BrainHealth Project, Adolescent Reasoning Initiative (ARI).

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Neuroplasticity for kids with special needs

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Why neuroplasticity is the secret ingredient for kids with special needs | Cerebral Palsy Alliance

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If your child has special needs, chances are you’ve heard the term ‘neuroplasticity’ at some point, perhaps while searching the web or at a therapy session.

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Mindfulness Activities and Tips for Kids and Teens

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25 Fun Mindfulness Activities for Children & Teens (+Tips!)

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Fun mindfulness activities for kids to teach them about mindfulness. Enjoy!

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12 Simple Ways to Practice Mindfulness with Kids

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Mindfulness is a self-regulation strategy. With practice, it can help us feel calm, confident, and focused. And while it’s very helpful for us, as adults, mindfulness is a powerful skill we can teach to children and young adults. The goal of this article is to promote simple mindful strategies yo

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Crab Breathing Exercises

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Crab Breaths | Mindful Breathing Exercises for Kids | Calm Summer Meditation Music

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Michiana Family Center connects foster youth with local adult mentors who provide wisdom and Christ-like love to empower children to make positive life choices — during and after foster care.

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Indiana National Youth Advocate Program Services | NYAP

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Since 1978, Indiana's National Youth Advocate Program has provided trusted foster care services. Find comprehensive family support near you.

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Families First Center provides family preservation services, in a safe and neutral environment, with an overall goal of healing and strengthening the family dynamic.

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Indiana Foster Youth Alliance (IFYA) | Foster Success Indiana

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Connect with Indiana Youth Advisory Board! Resources and support for young adults with foster care experience. Empowering youth voices.

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Child Advocates champions children and families throughout Indiana by advocating for justice, seeking access to opportunity, and fostering well-being for

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Are you looking for foster care resources? Care Connect from MHS Indiana has resources and helpful links for foster parents, providers, and members. Learn more.

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To make a report

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Zoey's Place Child Advocacy Center * Hancock Co., Indiana

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Mental health and counseling

Local food, shelter, clothing, and supplies

Area provider

The Midwest's largest food pantry provides regular mobile pick-ups around the area.

Local provider

Find food and supplies in and around Knightstown.

Area provider

Find clothing, coats, gloves, shoes, and more for a variety of sizes and ages.

Local provider

This shelter provides housing for families and individuals, including men, women, and children.

Hope House also operates a thrift store.

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Resources and services serving families around Indiana and Hancock County - Zoey's Place CAC

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Child Abuse Reporting Resources for Teachers

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As a teacher, you are used to seeing students at school. Your gut tells you when something might be wrong – a student isn’t safe at home or a parent…

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5 School-Based Tools and Interventions for Child Abuse

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Schools play a pivotal role in identifying child abuse and protecting children. Consider these 5 school-based tools and interventions.

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A helpline counsellor will listen to your concerns and ask you any questions they might have. This helps make sure they understand the information you're sharing, assess the situation, offer advice and make decisions about the next steps to take.

They'll also explain how you can remain anonymous.

If you email us or submit a form, they'll write back to you with advice or some questions. You might be asked to call the helpline if you can.

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A helpline counsellor will listen to your concerns and ask you any questions they might have. This helps make sure they understand the information you're sharing, assess the situation, offer advice and make decisions about the next steps to take. They'll also explain how you can remain anonymous.

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What is child abuse and neglect? What can you do to prevent it?

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The information provided in this manual is intended for the use and convenience of staff and interested persons. References contained in DCS policies that pertain to other state policies, Indiana Administrative Code (IAC), Indiana Code (IC), and/or Federal Law should not be considered a substitute for the actual documents or legal counsel.

Questions or comments on individual policies should be directed to your local supervisor, work unit manager, or DCS.Policy@dcs.in.gov. Please contact our webmaster if you have any problems using the site.
Policies implemented via admin letters Indiana Child Welfare Policy Manual
Search our full policy manual using ctrl+f. The full searchable manual was last updated on 9/30/25: Indiana Child Welfare Policy Manual

The DCS policy team is in the process of converting each child welfare policy to a new template to better align with the DCS mission, vision, and practice model. During this conversion process, the format of the policies may differ as policies are developed or revised.

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The information provided in this manual is intended for the use and convenience of staff and interested persons. References contained in DCS policies that pertain to other state policies, Indiana Administrative Code (IAC), Indiana Code (IC), and/or Federal Law should not be considered a substitute for the actual documents or legal counsel.

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Links to State and Tribal Child Welfare Law and Policy - Indiana

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Considering Fostering?

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Considering Foster Care? When you foster with The Villages, you impact a child’s life, your community, and the world. By opening your heart and home, you have the opportunity to instill values like kindness, generosity, and compassion that a child will carry with them for life. Let’s Make a Difference Together To learn more about […]

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Resources | National Foster Parent Association

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A respected National voice for Foster, Adoptive and Kinship Parents in the US.

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Offering children safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments prevents child abuse and neglect.

Training and treatment for children and families can reduce short- and long-term effects of child abuse and neglect.

Everyone has a role to play in preventing child abuse and neglect.

Overview

Creating safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments is essential for helping children and families thrive. These relationships and environments also help protect children against or lessen the negative effects of violence.

Safety, stability, and nurturing are defined as follows:

Safety: extent to which a child is free from fear and secure from physical or psychological harm within their social and physical environment.

Stability: degree of predictability and consistency in a child's social, emotional, and physical environment.

Nurturing: extent to which a child's physical, emotional, and developmental needs are sensitively and consistently met.

Everyone has a role to play in preventing child abuse and neglect and helping all children reach their full potential.

Prevention

Parents and Caregivers

Young children experience the world through their relationships with parents and other caregivers. The quality of these relationships and the environment in which they develop, play a significant role in a child's development. Parents and caregivers can:

Set aside time each day to talk or play with your child.

Establish routines. Children feel secure when the environment is structured for them.

Validate your child's feelings and offer physical and emotional support.

Know who is supervising your child when they're outside your home.

Teach your child how to stay safe when they're online or on digital devices.

Seek parenting skill training programs to help build stronger relationships with your children.

Raising children can be challenging- ask for help when needed. Reach out to babysitters, family members, or close friends. Discuss your concerns with your child's doctor. Also consider finding out if your community offers support groups or programs for parents and caregivers.

Everyone

Ensuring the well-being of children is a shared responsibility. Friends, family, and other trusted adults can help by developing nurturing, supportive relationships with the children in their lives. Volunteering as a mentor at an afterschool program or offering to babysit are other ways to help.

Neighborhood associations can connect families to resources and other neighborhood adults to help with household tasks or with childcare.

Employers can adopt or support workplace policies that help families, such as livable wages, paid leave, and flexible and consistent schedules.

Everyone can recognize the challenges that families face and offer support and encouragement to reduce stress. Help encourage parents and caregivers to ask for help when they need it. Everyone can also support efforts to:

Adopt policies in support of families (such as family-friendly work policies).

Increase access to high-quality childcare and education.

Create safe places or neighborhood activities where children are supervised, and families can gather.

Provide access to free or low-cost evidence-based parent training.

Discourage violence and help ensure the safety of all members of a community.

Public health practitioners, partners, and other professionals also play a vital role in preventing child abuse and neglect.

Treatment

Training and treatment for children and families can reduce the short- and long-term effects of child abuse and neglect exposure. These effects can include physical, emotional, behavioral, and mental health issues. It can also improve parent-child interactions, parenting behaviors, and family functioning. Treatment for children and families can also help prevent later involvement in violence.

Resources

These are a few evidence-based resources that promote safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments.

Early Head Start: These programs are designed to nurture healthy attachments. Services encompass the full range of a family's needs from pregnancy through a child's third birthday.

Adults and Children Together Against Violence: Parents Raising Safe Kids (ACT): The program teaches positive parenting skills to parents and caregivers of children from birth to age 10.

SafeCare: The program focuses on creating positive relationships between caregivers and their children, ensuring homes are safe to reduce the risk of child unintentional injury, and keeping children as healthy as possible.

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This page explains how everyone can help prevent child abuse and neglect.

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Prevent Child Abuse Indiana - Primary Prevention for Child Maltreatment

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Our mission is to be the voice in Indiana for preventing child abuse of all forms. Prevent Child Abuse Indiana works to stop child maltreament before it begins.

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Child Abuse Prevention | Programs & Services

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Our child abuse prevention programs and services are designed to ensure the safety and long-term success of the families we serve. Learn more.

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Prevent Child Abuse America is the nation's oldest and largest organization committed to preventing child abuse and neglect before it happens. We promote programs and resources informed by science that enable kids, families, and entire communities to thrive-today, tomorrow, and for generations to come. ​

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Prevention Of Child Abuse Program - Safe Child

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All For Kids is committed to championing Positive Prevention to combat child maltreatment. ​ Through collaborative efforts, innovative programs, and continuous improvement, we strive to create a safe environment for children, strengthen families, build community connections, and contribute to a better world for all. ​

Programs for Children & Families

All For Kids is dedicated to helping your family thrive in a safe and nurturing environment. We see and hear you, working together to ensure your family's growth and well-being. By offering tailored resources and personalized support, we empower you as parents and promote your child's development. Through strategies focused on engagement, education, and community involvement, we strengthen families and build a supportive network. We're here to connect you to help that is more personal, beneficial, and direct to you.

Build Peer Capacity

All For Kids delivers hundreds of direct services annually to vulnerable children and families. However, our greatest impact on child well-being comes from strengthening peer capacity and building collaborative networks.

Strategies Technical Assistance works with collaborative prevention partners to build coordinated networks of care at both county and state levels. We provide personalized support to develop long-term, research-based, trauma-informed solutions that create a seamless, sustainable, and impactful child abuse prevention network.

The Los Angeles Community Child Abuse Council unites 12 community-based councils across Los Angeles County. The mission of the Council is to reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect, and to educate the public about child abuse and family violence issues.

Transform Systems and Communities

We know that our community is more resilient to child maltreatment when we foster deeper, more lasting relationships that move us all toward positive prevention.

We also know that we can't continue to single service our way out of societal problems. That's why we help other organizations and institutions to collaborate and function differently in a proactive way that is community engaged and sustainable. All For Kids is proud to be a thought leader and significant part of this national collective effort.

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Child Abuse Prevention & Treatment Programs | All For Kids

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Learn more about child abuse prevention & treatment with All For Kids' variety of development, abuse, research, & evaluation programs.

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What is an IEP?

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What's an IEP?

Students who need extra help and support in school may be eligible for special education services in the form of anindividualized education program (IEP). This program is offered free of charge to families of kids in public schools and outlines the goals and any support services that may be needed for a child to succeed in school.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) says that parents and guardians of students with disabilities or special health care needs are important members of their child's education team. They should work with educators to develop a plan that helps kids succeed in school.

Understanding how to get and use these services will help your child be as successful as possible in school.

Who Needs an IEP?

Students who are eligible for special education services need an IEP. While there are many reasons that students could be eligible, some common conditions include:

How Are Services Offered?

In most cases, the services and goals outlined in an IEP can be offered in a general school environment. This can be done in the regular classroom (for example, a reading teacher helps a small group of children who need extra help while the other kids in the class work with the regular teacher.) The small group serves students with similar needs who are brought together for help.

Every effort is made to help kids learn alongside their peers who do not have disabilities. But sometimes the level of support needed can't be met in a general classroom, so students are educated in a specialized learning classroom that is more appropriate for their needs. These classes have fewer students per teacher and allow for more one-on-one instruction. The teacher usually has training in helping kids with special educational needs. Students spend most of their day in a small group classroom and join the regular classes whenever possible - for example lunch, gym, or the arts.

What's the Referral and Evaluation Process?

The referral process begins when a teacher, parent, or doctor is concerned that a child may be having trouble in the classroom, and the teacher notifies the school counselor or psychologist.

The first step is to gather specific information about the student's progress or academic problems. This may be done through:

a conference with parents

a conference with the student

watching the student in class to assess performance (attention, behavior, work completion, tests, classwork, homework, etc.)

This information helps school officials decide the best next step. Sometimes new classroom strategies are all that's needed to help a child become more successful. If this doesn't work, the child will get an educational assessment, which can find a specific learning disability or other health impairment.

Note: The presence of a disability doesn't automatically guarantee a child will get services. To be eligible, the disability must affect how the child does at school. To decide on a child's eligibility, a team of professionals will consider their observations, as well as how the child does on standardized tests and daily work such as tests, quizzes, classwork, and homework.

Who's On the Team?

As a guardian, you can decide whether to have your child assessed. If you choose to do so, you'll be asked to sign a permission form that will detail who is involved in the process and the types of tests they use. These tests might include measures of specific school skills, such as reading and math or developmental skills, like speech and language.

The professionals on the evaluation team can include:

When the team finishes the assessment, a comprehensive evaluation report is developed. This report includes an educational classification and outlines the skills and support the child will need.

You can review this report before an IEP is developed. If there is something that you don't agree with, work together with the team to come up with a plan that best meets your child's needs.

How Is an IEP Developed?

The next step is an IEP meeting with you and the team to decide what will go into the IEP. A regular teacher should also attend this meeting to offer suggestions for how the plan can help your child progress through the standard education curriculum.

At the meeting, the team will discuss your child's educational needs - as described in the evaluation report - and develop specific, measurable short-term and yearly goals for each of those needs. You can take an active role in developing the goals and determining which skills or areas will receive the most attention.

The cover page of the IEP outlines the support services your child will get and how often they will be provided (for example, occupational therapy twice a week). Support services might include:

Services might also include transportation, test help or modifications, participation in special programs, and the inclusion of transition planning beginning at age 14.

If the team recommends several services, the amount of time they take in the child's school schedule can seem overwhelming. To ease that load, a professional may talk with your child's teacher to come up with strategies that help but won't offer hands-on instruction. For example, an occupational therapist may suggest accommodations for a child with fine-motor problems that affect handwriting, and the classroom teacher would incorporate these suggestions into the handwriting lessons taught to the entire class.

Other services can be delivered right in the classroom, so the child's day isn't interrupted by therapy. The child who has trouble with handwriting might work one-on-one with an occupational therapist while everyone else practices their handwriting skills. When deciding how and where services are offered, the child's comfort and dignity should be a top priority.

Your child's IEP should be reviewed annually to update goals and make sure your child is getting the support that's needed. However, IEPs can be changed at any time on an as-needed basis. If you think your child needs more, fewer, or different services, you can request a meeting and bring the team together to discuss your concerns.

What Are My Legal Rights?

Guidelines (sometimes called procedural safeguards) outline your rights as a parent to control what happens to your child throughout the IEP process. For example, timelines ensure that the development of an IEP moves from referral to providing services as quickly as possible. When your child is referred, ask about this timeline and get a copy of your parents' rights.

The parents' rights also describe how you can proceed if you disagree with any part of the evaluation report or the IEP - mediation and hearings are some options. You can get information about low-cost or free legal representation from the school district or through early intervention programs.

Attorneys and paid advocates familiar with the IEP process will provide representation if you need it. You also may invite anyone who knows or works with your child whose input you feel would be helpful to join the IEP team. Federally supported programs in each state support parent-to-parent information and training activities for parents of children with special needs. The Parent Training and Information Projects conduct workshops, publish newsletters, and answer questions by phone or by mail about parent-to-parent activities.

What Else Should I Know?

Parents have the right to choose where their kids will be educated. This choice includes public or private elementary schools and secondary schools, including religious schools. It also includes charter schools and home schools.

But parents should know that the rights of children with disabilities who are placed in private elementary schools and secondary schools are not the same as children with disabilities who are enrolled in public schools.

Two major differences that parents, teachers, school staff, private school representatives, and kids need to know about are:

1. Children with disabilities who are placed by their parents in private schools may not get the same services they would get in a public school.

2. Not all kids with disabilities placed by their parents in private schools will get services.

The IEP process is complex, but it's also an effective way to address how your child learns. If you have concerns, be sure to ask about the evaluation findings or the goals recommended by your child's IEP team. You know your child best and should play a central role in creating a learning plan tailored to their specific needs.

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individuals with disabilities education act

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Some kids may be eligible for individualized education programs in public schools, free of charge. Understanding how to access these services can help you be an effective advocate for your child.

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Legal Help with IEPs

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What Parents, Guardians, and Students Need to Know about IEPs in Indiana. The Lento Law Firm can help.

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What is a 504 Plan?

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Learn more about Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education.

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What Is a 504 Plan?

A 504 plan is a way for schools to provide support for students with a disability so that they can learn in a regular classroom.

The name 504 plan comes from Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. This law prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in programs or activities that receive federal funding (such as public schools or publicly funded private schools). This ensures that students with disabilities can get a free education that works for them.

Who Can Get a 504 Plan?

Students are eligible for 504 plans if they have a disability that limits daily life activities such as self-care, walking, seeing, breathing, hearing, speaking, or learning.

Students who need a 504 plan can include those with:

A student returning to school after a serious illness or injury also might get a 504 plan.

How Is a 504 Plan Made?

First, a parent, teacher or other school staff member, health care provider, or therapist asks the school to evaluate the student for a 504 plan. Every school handles 504 plans a little differently, but most have a 504 team that may include the principal, teachers, school nurse, guidance counselor, and psychologist. The team looks at a child's grades, test scores, medical records, and what teachers report about the student to decide if the student is eligible for a 504 plan.

If the 504 team decides that a student is eligible, they work with the parents to decide what kind of supports (called accommodations) the student needs to succeed. These are listed in the 504 plan.

What Does a 504 Plan Include?

The 504 plan is based on each student's needs and strengths. Accommodations can include:

sitting in a certain place or with a certain desk or chair in the classroom

extra time on tests and assignments

use of speech-to-text (dictation) for writing

modified textbooks (such as one that can be read aloud to the student)

adjusted class schedules

verbal (out loud) testing

allowing visits to the nurse's office

occupational therapy or physical therapy

Many other accommodations are available. If a parent asks for one that the school can't provide, the school might offer another one that would help. Most accommodations in 504 plans don't change what the student learns - rather, they remove barriers to learning.

The 504 plan should be reviewed at least yearly to make sure the accommodations are up to date and work for the student's needs.

How Do 504 Plans and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) Differ?

The main difference is that:

A 504 plan provides accommodations so a student can learn in a regular classroom.

An IEP is a plan for specialized learning (for example, for dyslexia) or special education. 504 plans don't usually change what the child learns but IEPs can.

There are other differences too, such as who is eligible, who creates the plan, and how changes are made to the plan.

Some students have both a 504 plan and an IEP. For example, a student with autism spectrum disorder may have an IEP for learning supports and a 504 plan for occupational therapy.

What Happens if Parents Don't Agree With the School About the 504 Plan?

Sometimes parents and the school disagree on whether a child should have a 504 plan and/or what should be in it. If this happens to you, start by setting up a meeting to talk to the school 504 team. Schools want their students to succeed and will work with parents.

If you still have concerns, you can ask for a mediation session with a mediator. A mediator is professionally trained to help with the discussion without taking either side. If the issue is not resolved in the mediation session, you can request a due process hearing. You may need to get a lawyer for the hearing. You can also make a written appeal to the school district or the U.S. Office for Civil Rights saying that the school violated 504 rights.

How Can Parents Help?

You are your child's most important teacher and advocate. Help your child by building a strong relationship with the 504 team. This way, you show that you value education and that you want to work together respectfully to help your child succeed at school.

It also helps to:

Understand the 504 plan. Know what the accommodations are and how they will be used.

Talk to the school about how your child is doing. Let them know if you think the accommodations are working.

If you think you need to add or change accommodations, talk to the 504 team about your concerns.

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Kids who have special needs in the classroom may be eligible for a government-supported learning plan.

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Differences between IEPs and 504 Plans

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#13 What is the difference between a 504 plan and an IEP

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IEP vs. 504 Plan | Definition, Differences & Eligibility - Video | Study.com

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Discover the difference between an IEP and a 504 Plan in special education. Watch now to learn about their definitions and eligibility criteria in just 5 minutes!

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Prevention : Mental Health America of Indiana

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Mental Health America of Indiana advocates for mental health screenings in an effort to recognize the first symptoms of onset mental health conditions and illness.

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The terms mental health promotion and prevention have often been confused. Promotion is defined as intervening to optimize positive mental health by addressing determinants of positive mental health before a specific mental health problem has been identified, with the ultimate goal of improving the positive mental health of the population. Mental health prevention is defined as intervening to minimize mental health problems by addressing determinants of mental health problems before a specific mental health problem has been identified in the individual, group, or population of focus with the ultimate goal of reducing the number of future mental health problems in the population.Mental health promotion and prevention are at the core of a public health approach to children and youth mental health which addresses the mental health of all children, focusing on the balance of optimizing positive mental health as well as preventing and treating mental health problems.

Promotion

Mental health promotion attempts to encourage and increase protective factors and healthy behaviors that can help prevent the onset of a diagnosable mental disorder and reduce risk factors that can lead to the development of a mental disorder. It also involves creating living conditions and environments that support mental health and allow people to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles or a "a climate that respects and protects basic civil, political, socio-economic and cultural rights is fundamental to mental health promotion. Without the security and freedom provided by these rights, it is very difficult to maintain a high level of mental health."

Specifically, mental health can be promoted through

early childhood interventions (e.g., home visits for pregnant women, pre-school psychosocial activities);

providing support for children (e.g., skills building programs, child and youth development programs);

programs targeted at vulnerable groups, including minorities, indigenous people, migrants, and people affected by conflicts and disasters (e.g., psychosocial interventions after disasters);

incorporating mental health promotional activities in schools (e.g., programs supporting ecological changes in schools and child-friendly schools);

violence prevention programs ; and, among others,

Positive youth development is defined by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs as an intentional, pro-social approach that

engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, and families in a manner that is productive and constructive;

recognizes, utilizes, and enhances youths' strengths; and

promotes positive outcomes for young people by providing opportunities, fostering positive relationships, and furnishing the support needed to build on their leadership strengths.

It provides a lens for promoting the mental health of youth by focusing on protective factors in a young person's environment, and on how these factors could influence one's ability to overcome adversity. Learn more about positive youth development .

Prevention

Prevention efforts can vary based on the, audience they are addressing, level of intensity they are providing, and the development phase they target. Figure 1 depicts the different types of prevention as defined by the Institute of Medicine. As prevention efforts move from universal prevention interventions to treatment they increase in intensity and become more individualized.

Note: Click the image to Enlarge.

Interventions may vary not only based on level of intensity, as seen in Figure 1, but also on the development phase of the youth. Figure 2 provides examples of preventive interventions for each of the developmental stages through young adulthood.
Figure 2: Preventive Interventions by Developmental Phase
Note: Click the image to Enlarge.

Resources

NEW! Youth Social Media Use and Mental Health: Tip Sheet for Adults Who Work with Youth (PDF, 2 pages)
This resource provides a discussion on the current state of youth, social media, and mental health. It also provides tips on how to support and partner with youth who are active on social media. This tip sheet was informed by youth, researchers, and federal staff who attended the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs' Social Media and Youth Mental Health meeting at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on July 11, 2019.

Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Youth People: Progress and Possibilities
From the National Academy Press, this document explores prevention practices in a variety of settings, including programs for selected at-risk populations (such as children and youth in the child welfare system), school-based interventions, interventions in primary care settings, and community services designed to address a broad array of mental health needs and populations.

Guideposts for Success for Youth with Mental Health Needs
The Guideposts for Success are a framework to assist the multiple organizations that need to be involved to meet the needs and improve the transition outcomes of all youth, including youth with disabilities. The guideposts discuss school-based services, career preparation, leadership opportunities, community services, and family involvement supports for youth with mental health needs. These documents were developed by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability which is supported by funds from the Department of Labor.

Positive Mental Health
The Office of Adolescent Health provides a range of information on mental health including a section focused on positive mental health and how to promote resilience. Visit the site to learn more about this topic and other mental health information for adolescents.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Effectiveness of Wraparound Care Coordination for Children and Adolescents
"Wraparound" has been adopted to better meet the mental health and other needs of young people with serious emotional and behavioral needs and their families, and keep them safely in their homes and communities. However, it has long been debated whether Wraparound is actually more effective than traditional services. New research from the University of Washington finds that Wraparound consistently produces more positive outcomes for these youth. Wraparound may also hold potential for reducing disparities in outcomes for youth of color, disparities that have long been found for mental health services.

References

¹ Miles, Espiritu, Horen, Sebian, & Waetzig, 2010
² WHO, 2010
³ WHO, 2010
⁴ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices, 2012
⁵ O'Connell, Boat, & Warner, 2009, p. 66
⁶ O'Connell, Boat, & Warner, 2009, p. 155

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The terms mental health promotion and prevention have often been confused. Promotion is defined as intervening to optimize positive mental health by addressing determinants of positive mental health before a specific mental health problem has been identified, with the ultimate goal of improving the positive mental health of the population.