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Lessons from the Field Webinar Series: Addressing Student Behavioral Needs & Supporting Their Mental Health

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Lessons from the Field Webinar Series: Addressing Student Behavioral Needs & Supporting Their Mental Health

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Attention: State and District Leaders, School Administrators, Educators, School Nurses, Parents, and Education Stakeholders
The U.S. Department of Education is hosting a webinar series to support educational settings in safely sustaining in-person instruction. The series features lessons learned and best practices from faculty, staff, schools, districts, institutions of higher education, early childhood education providers, and other places of educational instruction, describing approaches to operating during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education's Office of Safe and Supportive Schools, the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE) invites you to join the next webinar, Addressing Student Behavioral Needs & Supporting Their Mental Health.

Date: Wednesday, December 8, 2021
Time: 3:00 - 4:15 pm EDT

Please join us for important information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Education addressing student behavioral and mental health issues resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Strategies for supporting students as they return to or sustain in-person instruction will be addressed. A panel discussion with practitioners from the field will follow information shared by federal agency staff members.

Speakers/Panelists

Kabrillen Jones: Special Assistant, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education

Renee Bradley: Education Program Specialist, Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education

Marci Hertz: Senior Behavioral Scientist, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Jennifer Kubista: Superintendent, Central School District 13J, Monmouth and Independence, OR

Lisa Spears: SBT Clinical Supervisor & Program Coordinator, James F. Reames Center, Florence 1 Schools, Florence, SC

Webinar Materials

For your reference, slides for this presentation will be posted on this event page on the day of the event. The recording will be posted a day after.

Speaker Bios (Coming Soon!)

Slides (Coming Soon!)

Recording (Coming Soon!)

Transcript (Coming Soon!)

Related Documents
U.S. Department of Education Resources CDC Resources Other Resources
This event will reference the following resources, which we encourage you to access in advance of the webinar to inform participation:

Registration

You must register to participate in this presentation.

Please contact NCSSLE if you have any questions. We look forward to sharing this information with you and hearing from you about the important work you are doing in your schools, communities, and states to meet the needs of your students and staff as they return to in-person learning.

More on the Lessons from the Field Webinar Series

Archived Events: To access archived materials from previous Lessons from the Field webinars, go here.

Upcoming Webinars: Stay tuned for additional details on upcoming webinars in the Lessons from the Field Webinar Series.

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Lessons from the Field Webinar Series - Addressing Student Behavioral Needs & Supporting Their Mental Health

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Attention: State and District Leaders, School Administrators, Educators, School Nurses, Parents, and Education Stakeholders The U.S. Department of Education is hosting a webinar series to support educational settings in safely sustaining in-person instruction.

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Adolescent Substance Use Prevention Toolkit for School-Based Health Centers

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Adolescent Substance Use Prevention Toolkit for School-Based Health Centers

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Our learning center offers on-demand access to a wide variety of video courses and conference presentations. Use the dropdown menus to navigate locate the resources to meet your professional development needs and support your practice.

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Learning & Resource Center For School Mental Health Professionals

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Our learning center offers on-demand access to a wide variety of video courses and conference presentations. Use the dropdown menus to navigate locate the resources to meet your professional development needs and support your practice.

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Best Practices and Resources for Welcoming Afghan Refugee Students and Their Families

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Best Practices and Resources for Welcoming Afghan Refugee Students and Their Families

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SSWAA was a contributor to the development of a newly released guide. SSWAA's own evaluation template is in the work, along with those of other SISP professional organizations. The guide helps state and district teams design evaluation systems specifically for SISPs, including school social workers, so that evaluations capture the diverse roles of and depth and breadth of services provided by SISP.

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Specialized instructional support personnel (SISP) play an important role in ensuring student success. These educators meet students' needs through a wide range of services and supports (e.g., therapy, counseling, nursing, and specialized instruction). How can states and districts develop performance evaluation systems that capture the roles of these diverse educators and ensure that fair and useful feedback is available to support their evaluation?

Designed as an extension to the GTL Center's resource, Practical Guide to Designing Comprehensive Teacher Evaluation Systems, this supplemental guide helps state and district teams to problem-solve and make design decisions to differentiate evaluation systems for SISP. The supplemental guide is organized into four sections:

Statutory and regulatory requirements that guide the development of educator evaluation systems and that detail inclusive and exclusive criteria used to determine which personnel are subject to evaluation per the regulations and policy decisions.

Suitability and need for differentiation within measures of instructional/teacher practice and student growth based upon specific district responsibilities, roles and, as appropriate and available, national/state professional association standards and relevant student growth and outcome measures.

Evaluator training designed to guide and assist state and local teams in the recognition, evaluation, and support of best practices for specific school personnel.

Professional learning designed to assist all personnel to enhance and move toward best practices identified by their respective national association or professional standards.

Each section includes state-level examples and a series of questions you can use to facilitate an evaluation design process that better accounts for the unique roles and responsibilities of specialized instructional support personnel.

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Center on Great Teachers & Leaders - at American Institutes for Research

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The GTL Center is dedicated to advancing state efforts to grow, respect, and retain great teachers and leaders for all students. Our mission is to foster the capacity of vibrant networks of practitioners, researchers, innovators, and experts to build and sustain a seamless system of support for great teachers and leaders for every school in every state in the nation.

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Using Data to Document the Benefit of School Social  Work Services

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Using Data to Document the Benefit of School Social  Work Services

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Treating Grief and Loss in Black Children and Youth

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Treating Grief and Loss in Black Children and Youth

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October 21, 2021, 12-1

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3 Big Ideas for Implementing Effective Social Emotional Learning Strategies

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3 Big Ideas for Implementing Effective Social Emotional Learning Strategies

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Empowering teachers to design their own SEL instruction makes sense; they know their students best. However, many SEL programs adopted by schools consist of scripted and sequenced curricula designed to be used in a weekly 30-minute block often led by a school counselor or designated SEL facilitator. These programs tend to be expensive, require significant training and ongoing support, and limit individual autonomy or choice as adaptations or deviations from the script are seen as threats to program fidelity. Imagine an approach to SEL that is developmental, flexible, responsive to local needs, and focused on strategies for teachers to implement as appropriate, rather than a sequenced curriculum for them to follow. In this edWebinar, Dr. Stephanie Jones shares three big ideas to consider for reimagining how SEL can happen in and outside of school.

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Presented by Dr. Stephanie Jones, Director of the Ecological Approaches to Social-Emotional Learning (EASEL) Lab, Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Senior Fellow, International Center for Leadership in Education

Sponsored by International Center for Leadership in Education
WATCH THE EDWEBINAR RECORDING Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more
Empowering teachers to design their own SEL instruction makes sense; they know their students best. However, many SEL programs adopted by schools consist of scripted and sequenced curricula designed to be used in a weekly 30-minute block often led by a school counselor or designated SEL facilitator. These programs tend to be expensive, require significant training and ongoing support, and limit individual autonomy or choice as adaptations or deviations from the script are seen as threats to program fidelity. Imagine an approach to SEL that is developmental, flexible, responsive to local needs, and focused on strategies for teachers to implement as appropriate, rather than a sequenced curriculum for them to follow. In this edWebinar, Dr. Stephanie Jones shares three big ideas to consider for reimagining how SEL can happen in and outside of school.

This recorded edWebinar will be of value to kindergarten through high school teachers, librarians, and school and district leaders.
About the Presenter
Dr. Stephanie M. Jones is a professor of child development and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She's spent the last ten years studying the impact of social-emotional learning interventions on behavioral and academic outcomes of preschool and elementary students. Throughout the process, she has developed and tested programs, pedagogy, and curricula that foster social-emotional competencies among children, adults, and their environments. Stephanie is a firm believer in evaluating educational programs with rigorous scientific research and providing early and middle childhood practitioners and policymakers with accessible content. She's conducted such research for several programs and early education efforts, including Reading, Writing, Respect and Resolution, Resolving Conflict Creatively, SECURe, and the Head Start CARES initiative. Before she received her doctorate in developmental psychology from Yale University, she worked as a Research Associate at Columbia University's National Center for Children in Poverty. In addition to serving as Senior Fellow at ICLE, Stephanie serves on numerous national advisory boards including the National Board of Engaging Schools and the Council of Distinguished Scientists for the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development convened by the Aspen Institute. In 2008, she was awarded the Grawemeyer Award in Education for her work on A Vision for Universal Preschool Education; a few years later she received the Joseph E. Zins Early-Career Distinguished Contribution Award for Action Research in Social and Emotional Learning.

Join the Social-Emotional Learning community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

The International Center for Leadership in Education's mission is to challenge, inspire, and equip today's educators - both teachers and leaders - to prepare our students for lifelong success.

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3 Big Ideas for Implementing Effective Social and Emotional Learning Strategies

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Presented by Dr. Stephanie Jones, Director of the Ecological Approaches to Social-Emotional Learning (EASEL) Lab, Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Senior Fellow, International Center for Leadership in Education Sponsored by International Center for Leadership in Education WATCH THE EDWEBINAR RECORDING Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more Empowering teachers to design their own SEL instruction makes sense; they know their students best.

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Interconnected Systems Framework and Tiers 2 and 3

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Interconnected Systems Framework and Tiers 2 and 3

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Teaming is a key component in the MTSS framework. In this session we will discuss what an expanded school-based teaming process looks like in advanced tiers and important routines and procedures teams should use. We will also discuss how teams can use school and community data across the tiers. Finally, key ISF resources will be shared to help strengthen Tiers 2/3.

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Teaming is a key component in the MTSS framework. In this session we will discuss what an expanded school-based teaming process looks like in advanced tiers and important routines and procedures teams should use. We will also discuss how teams can use school and community data across the tiers. Finally, key ISF resources will be shared to help strengthen Tiers 2/3.

Learning Objectives

Participants will learn about the expanded school-based teaming process at Tiers 2/3.

Participants will learn how the meeting agenda supports and documents the problem-solving process.

Participants will learn how the expanded team uses school and. community data to guide the process across tiers.

Participants will learn about ISF resources including discussion guides and activities to strengthen their advanced tier system.

Resources
Susan Barrett, MA, serves as a Director for the Center for Social Behavior Supports Center (CSBS) at Old Dominion University and an Implementer Partner with the U.S. National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). She assists with large-scale implementation of PBIS; partners with researchers to evaluate the impact of PBIS on students, school staff, and school communities; and serves on the Association of Positive Behavior Supports Board of Directors. She also co-leads the development of the Interconnected Systems Framework, a mental health and PBIS expansion effort. Susan has been published in the areas of large-scale adoption of PBIS, mental health, cost-benefit analysis, advanced tier system development, and adoption of evidence-based practices in schools.

The Northwest MHTTC and the Pacific Southwest MHTTC are continuing our partnership to provide and extend deeper technical assistance on the Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF).

Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF) is a structure and process that maximizes effectiveness and efficiency by blending the strengths of school and community mental health with strengths of the multi-tiered framework of PBIS (Barrett, Eber, Weist, 2013)

This past year, we offered three webinars on the Interconnected Systems Framework (see below for recordings) and followed the learning series up with monthly discussion hours led by Susan Barrett and field leaders from our region.

This year, we are offering more programming to deepen your ISF work and contextualize ISF to this moment of COVID-19 and beyond. Our fall offering is made up of four modules and ends with a town hall for you to be able to ask faculty your questions and resource one another. Each module includes teaching from Susan Barrett and field leaders on ISF systems, and USC faculty on ISF practices.

Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our monthly newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.

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Module 3 Part 1: ISF Systems and Tiers 2 & 3 with Susan Barrett | Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network

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Teaming is a key component in the MTSS framework. In this session we will discuss what an expanded school-based teaming process looks like in advanced tiers and important routines and procedures teams should use. We will also discuss how teams can use school and community data across the tiers.

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Discussing Race, Racism, and Important Current Events with Students: A Guide with Lesson Plans and Resources

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Discussing Race, Racism, and Important Current Events with Students: A Guide with Lesson Plans and Resources

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The Center on PBIS put out Discussing Race, Racism, and Important Current Events with Students: A Guide with Lesson Plans and Resources

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Trauma Learning Modules

Welcome to our online trauma learning modules for Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports. We believe that becoming a Trauma-Sensitive School is a journey. Throughout this journey we will provide you tools to develop the systems to gain knowledge, to build practices, and to have the skills to support a Trauma-Sensitive School. Your professional journey includes engaging and practical learning modules. Within the learning modules, you will interact with content that is focused on developing a Trauma-Sensitive School. Supplemental activities, resources, and an action planner are included to help guide your implementation. Videos from experts and division staff implementers are also included with each module to enrich your experience.

Finally, our six modules are focused on the following topics:

Module 1: Introduction to Trauma and Becoming a Trauma-Sensitive School

Module 2: Families and Communities as Partners

Module 3: How Trauma Impacts Learning

Module 4: Strategies and Classroom Practices (academic, social-emotional learning, trauma-sensitive environments, regulation, cognitive problem solving, relationships, school-wide discipline, self-care)

Module 5: Implementation and Systems (division, staff, administrators)

Module 6: Resilience

Please select the appropriate module below to find the materials and information for each.

Note: Documents in this section are WCAG 2.0 Level AA compliant, with a few exceptions. When structure or content makes compliance difficult, we offer an additional, less robust version. Any document marked with an asterisk is visual in nature and cannot be converted to an accessibility-compliant layout. For assistance in using these documents, please contact your VTSS System Coach(es) or the webmaster.

To watch ANY of the videos in a larger display, hover over the YouTube logo. A message reading "Watch on youtube.com" will appear - click on that and enjoy!

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Trauma Learning Modules - VTSS RIC - Virginia Commonwealth University

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Welcome to our online trauma learning modules for Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports. We believe that becoming a Trauma-Sensitive School is a journey. Throughout this journey we will provide you tools to develop the systems to gain knowledge, to build practices, and to have the skills to support a Trauma-Sensitive School.

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The Cultural Orientation Resource Center is funded by the Department of State/Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM). Materials on this website were produced with PRM funding, with funding from the Department of Health and Human Services/Administration for Children and Families/Office of Refugee Resettlement, or by the COR Center's parent institution, the Center for Applied Linguistics.

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COR Center - Cultural Orientation Resource (COR) Center

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The Cultural Orientation Resource Center is funded by the Department of State/Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM). Materials on this website were produced with PRM funding, with funding from the Department of Health and Human Services/Administration for Children and Families/Office of Refugee Resettlement, or by the COR Center's parent institution, the Center for Applied Linguistics.

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An elementary school intervention program for childhood trauma.

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Bounce Back is a school-based group intervention for elementary students exposed to stressful and traumatic events. With 20-50% of American children experiencing trauma within their families, at their schools, and in their communities, it's essential to help children heal.

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In response to the increase in violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the United States, MHTTC has created a (non-exhaustive) list of resources.  We hope these resources will be helpful in efforts to respond to the mental health needs of AAPI youth at school.

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Dear School Mental Health Leaders:

In response to the increase in violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the United States, we have created a (non-exhaustive) list of resources. We hope these resources will be helpful in efforts to respond to the mental health needs of AAPI youth at school.

MHTTC

Shining a Light on API Mental Health in the Time of COVID-19
COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the mental health of countless individuals, including Asian and Pacific Islanders (API). For some, it may spark an old trauma and PTSD associated with being a refugee or immigrant. Some may experience severe depression due to the loss of a job or isolation from one's support system because of social distancing. Sadly, there also continues to be the emotional trauma brought on by racist attacks on API.
NCSMH Other

Let's Talk! Supporting Asian and Asian American Students Through COVID-19
This series has been organized through a collaboration between the Mass General Brigham (MGH) Institute of Health Professions, the MGH Center for Cross-Cultural Emotional Student Wellness, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education Let's Talk! Conference.

Resources to Address Anti-Asian Racism
Guidance and resources outlined by the Association of Asian-Pacific Community Health Organizations on how to handle stigma and racism related to COVID-19

List of Reported Anti-Asian Assaults, Harassment, and Hate Crimes
A list of reported anti-Asian assaults, harassment, and hate crimes from the Anti-Defamation League since January 2020.

Stop AAPI Hate
This website tracks incidents and allows people to report incidents. They are a coalition of nonprofits, organizers, and educators who are committed to addressing the issue of hate against AAPI folks. Their goal is to be responsive to the needs of the community. Additional resources includesafety tips for those experiencing or witnessing hate and a Survey of Federal & State Laws: Understanding Your Right To Be Treated Fairly and Without Discrimination in Restaurants, Stores, and Other Businesses.

Bystander Intervention Training to stop anti-Asian/American and Xenophobic harassment
In response to the rise in Anti-Asian/American and xenophobic harassment, Hollaback! partnered with Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC to adapt a free bystander intervention training as well as de-escalation training in response to an increase in violence against AAPI communities.

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Dear School Mental Health Leaders: In response to the increase in violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the United States, we have created a (non-exhaustive) list of resources. We hope these resources will be helpful in efforts to respond to the mental health needs of AAPI youth at school.

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Tips for Successful Communication with Families During Online Learning

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Tips for Successful Communication with Families During Online Learning

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January 2021 Tips for Successful Communication with Families During Online Learning-FINAL

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Mental Health Literacy Course for Teachers and School Staff

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Mental Health Literacy Course for Teachers and School Staff

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Educators and school personnel play a vital role in promoting mental health and well-being and identifying and responding to emerging mental illness in children and adolescents. However, they often have not received the education, training, and/or ongoing support needed to respond in the classroom.

To address this need,the MHTTC Network, in partnership with the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has developed a FREE self-guided online course, video library + resource collection, and a website focused on educator mental health literacy. The 3-part training package, Classroom WISE (Well-Being Information and Strategies for Educators), was informed by and co-developed with educators from across the nation.

These resources will present concrete, universal approaches to promoting student mental health and creating safe and supportive classroom environments, describe student behaviors that may indicate a mental health concern, and provide specific skills and strategies to engage and support students with mental health concerns. Catch a SNEAK PEEK below! Complete access to the training package is now available at www.classroomwise.org.

Note: We encourage you to share the information about Classroom WISE widely with your colleagues - a flyer to disseminate is availablehere.

Access Classroom WISE by visiting www.classroomwise.org

Classroom WISE Online Course Modules

Upon completion of this course, the educator will be equipped with strategies that can be used to promote student mental health and support students experiencing adversity, distress, and mental health challenges in the classroom. A detailed list of course objectives is available here.

The 5-hour self-paced course will be available on June 21, 2021, free of cost on the Healtheknowledge platform. The HealtheKnowledge online learning portal offers a wide variety of courses in the areas of improving health and healthcare services.

Course Certificate of Completion

A free certificate of completion will be provided to participants upon completion of the course requirements.

Classroom WISE Video Library

Access over 50 brief, high-impact and engaging videos of students and educators giving examples to help allstudents feel welcome in the classroom. The videos are embedded in the Classroom WISE online course and also available as stand-alone resources for educators and school personnel on the Classroom WISE website here.

Classroom WISE Resource Collection

Identifying Student Distress, Tips for Starting Mental Health Conversations, Creating Mental Health Bulletin Boards are just some of the Classroom WISE resources available. This ever-evolving collection includes resources created to supplement the Classroom WISE online course, as well as resources from other mental health and school organizations. Access this resource collection on the Classroom WISE website here.

Coming soon! A Companion Course to Classroom WISE

A new companion course to Classroom WISE, the Cultural Inclusiveness and Equity WISE (Well-Being Information and Strategies for Educators), is coming soon. Educators will learn how inequities in education impact student mental health and how implicit bias influences our perceptions and responses. Building on this foundation, educators will learn culturally inclusive classroom strategies to support student mental health. Learn more here!

Subscribe to our MHTTC monthly e-newsletter to receive updates on Classroom WISE, and gain access to other resources for educators and school personnel related to student mental health! Questions? Contact the MHTTC Network Coordinating Office at [email protected] .

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Now Available: Free Online Course for Educators on Mental Health Literacy

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Educators and school personnel play a vital role in promoting mental health and well-being and identifying and responding to emerging mental illness in children and adolescents. However, they often have not received the education, training, and/or ongoing support needed to respond in the classroom.

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Substance Use Screening Tools for Adolescents

One of the largest barriers to providing appropriate substance use services to adolescents is getting them to open up about their use and engage in conversation to reduce or eliminate it, if necessary. The Using SBIRT to Talk to Adolescents about Substance Use four-part webinar series introduces health professionals to the SBIRT model as a way to learn from adolescents about their substance use, talk about what might motivate them to make a decision to reduce or abstain (if needed), and execute a plan to do so.

This first webinar in the series discusses the value, rationale for, and evidence of using the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) model with adolescents as well as the use of valid, brief screening tools for substance use and other risk factors and how to determine the recommended level of intervention based on level of risk. Participants will learn how to introduce screening to adolescents and how to relate screening score results to level of risk and appropriate level of intervention. This webinar will review the CRAFFT+N 2.1, S2BI, the NIDA Modified ASSIST Levels 1 and 2, BSTAD, PHQ-2/9A, and C-SSRS for use with adolescents, providing instructions and scoring for each.

Along with cutting-edge, evidence-based education, the expert presenters will provide sample scripts and role plays so participants gain strategies to use right away with adolescents in many settings. This free education is ideal for anyone who wishes to gain an in-depth understanding of SBIRT and its use with adolescents, designed for both those who are new to SBIRT and for those who want more advanced training beyond an overview.

Retired Senior Scientist at the Oregon Research Institute and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota

Dr. Winters retired as a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota, where he founded and directed the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research for 25 years. Dr. Winters received his BA from the University of Minnesota and a PhD in Psychology (Clinical) from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Director of Public Health Initiatives at the Suicide Prevention Office of the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH)

In this role, Dr. Harris oversees initiatives related to schools, colleges/universities, communities, and the relationship between substance use and suicide and works with large health systems and community providers to integrate suicide safer care into multiple service settings.

Senior Research Scientist, NORC at the University of Chicago

Dr. McPherson is the Principal Investigator of the NORC Adolescent SBIRT Project, as well as many other initiatives over her 20+ years working to implement SBIRT in many different settings, disciplines, and professions.

As a result of participating in this webinar, you will:

Learn what SBIRT stands for and what each component means.

Understand why SBIRT is relevant and important for use with adolescents and young adults.

Learn how to administer, score, and interpret the CRAFFT+N 2.1, S2BI, the NIDA Modified ASSIST Levels 1 and 2, BSTAD, PHQ-2/9A, and C-SSRS.

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Substance Use Screening Tools for Adolescents One of the largest barriers to providing appropriate substance use services to adolescents is getting them to open up about their use and engage in conversation to reduce or eliminate it, if necessary.

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VCRN offers assistance for COVID-19 Emotional Trauma (1-5 free counseling sessions) for school staff, essential workers, first responders, etc., and their spouses and partners.

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Center for Parent and Teen Communication

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Center for Parent and Teen Communication

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Resources to help teens cope.

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Center for Parent and Teen Communication

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Coping with life's inevitable hardships is key to health and well-being. Learn how to guide your teens to adopt positive ways to deal with stress. When they can cope with challenges in positive ways they will be less likely to turn to quick, dangerous, fixes and will instead be prepared to become their best selves.

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Helping Teens Learn to Cope Archives - Center for Parent and Teen Communication

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Coping with life's inevitable hardships is key to health and well-being. Learn how to guide your teens to adopt positive ways to deal with stress. When they can cope with challenges in positive ways they will be less likely to turn to quick, dangerous, fixes and will instead be prepared to become their best selves.

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Responding to COVID-19 School Mental Health Resources

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Responding to COVID-19 School Mental Health Resources

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Upcoming webinars as well as recorded webinars and resources to support returning to school.

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School Mental Health

Public health emergencies such as COVID-19 have a significant impact on students and their families, educators and the school mental health workforce, as well as the school mental health system. Addressing the mental health impact on students, parents, teachers and school personnel has become more important and necessary than ever before. The MHTTC Network recognizes this, and we are available to assist the school mental health workforce by providing training and technical assistance to help during these trying times.

Access the full list of MHTTC events & resources related to school mental health and COVID-19 here.

COVID-Related MHTTC School Mental Health Products and Resources

Back to School After COVID-19: Supporting Student and Staff Mental Health Toolkit | New England MHTTC

This toolkit is designed to help guide conversations to include a trauma-informed, equitable, and compassionate lens to providing mental health supports to every member of the school community.

As schools prepare to return to learning-in the classroom and virtually, they can help create a sense of safety that supports staff and student mental health by cultivating a culture of joy and forming positive connections in the school community. Three thought leaders share how their work in the fields of education, recovery-oriented care, and trauma recovery overlap to provide practical strategies to school staff and community members who care deeply about addressing the trauma that will be prevalent this fall.

Be Our Lunch Date? A "Think Tank" Time: A Gathering of School Mental Health Practitioners to Surface School Mental Teleheath Needs and Resources| Northwest MHTTC & Pacific Southwest MHTTC

For the past couple of months the Northwest and Pacific Southwest regions have been engaged in learning about the Interconnected Systems Framework - a structure and process to integrate PBIS and school mental health within school systems. This systems work is just as important now, as schools explore how to best provide school mental health, telehealth, and virtual student supports. This "think tank" workshop served to identify the needs we are noticing; the resources in our field that can support those needs; and ways we can develop tools and supports to fill the gaps.

Campus Mental Health: How Do We Come Back to the New Normal? | Mountain Plains MHTTC

In this Mountain Plains MHTTC virtual session, presenters discussed what coming back to the "new normal" looks like for college students' as they return to their respective campuses. It is anticipated that many students' will have experienced some trauma, if not just the shock of being dispersed from campus to the actual trauma of personal or familial illness.

Changing the Conversation about Mental Health to Support College Students During a Pandemic | Mountain Plains MHTTC

This virtual session focuses on the emergent pandemic and the impact it is having on college students' mental health and well-being.Topics covered include ways we can successfully support students' mental health needs remotely; coping strategies for adapting to a new normal; and techniques for supporting social connectedness during a time of social distancing and educational disconnect.

Clinical Strategies to Promote Emotional and Behavioral Health in College-aged Youth During COVID-19 | Mountain Plains MHTTC

This training focuses on evidence based practices, strategies, and supports for use with college-aged youth as they return to campus during the COVID-19 pandemic. The session addresses the context and needs of campus mental health during COVID-19.

Considerations for Systematic Screening PK-12: Universal Screening for Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors in the COVID-19 Era | Northwest MHTTC

As educational leaders across the country navigate the complexities for providing instruction during the 2020-2021 academic year, questions have arisen regarding systematic screening practices. In this presentation, we offer considerations by Lane and Oakes (2020) for conducting systematic screenings for internalizing and externalizing behaviors in the COVID-19 era. We recommend educators continue to screen, use multiple sources of data to inform programming, and screen responsibly.

This webinar, presented by Dr. Briana Woods-Jaeger, examines the various adversities experienced by racial and ethnic minority students as a result of the outbreak COVID-19. Additionally, this webinar will highlight how teachers and school staff can provide support to students disproportionately affected by incorporating cultural humility practices in a school/classroom setting.

COVID-19 Effect on Child Mental Health Fact Sheet | Central East MHTTC

This 2-page fact sheet describes the effect of COVID-19 on the mental health of children.

Creating Resilience in Children to Foster Potential and Increase their Success in the World | Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC

Do you want to prepare your children to become healthy, productive, contributing adults that will allow them to navigate an increasingly complex and changing world? This webinar explores how to create resilient children who can overcome adversity and view challenges as opportunities for growth and creativity. We identify ways that parents can accomplish this task from the doorways of their very own homes.

Crisis Readiness, Response, and Recovery Webinar Series | Pacific Southwest MHTTC

Bereavement outside the context of a crisis is common - the vast majority of children experience the death of a close family member or friend. These deaths have a significant and often long-term impact on learning, social and emotional development, behavior, and adjustment.

Part 1 - Principles of Commemoration and Memorialization: Commemorative activities and memorialization in schools present opportunities for students and staff to take an active role in constructing an enduring memory related to a crisis event and to honor those whose lives were lost. This session reviews key considerations for planning commemorative and memorial activities in school settings.

Part 2 - Supporting Grieving Students During a Pandemic: The current pandemic is associated with a large and growing number of deaths. This presentation provides practical suggestions on how schools can talk with and support grieving children in general. This presentation also highlights the unique challenges for supporting students during the pandemic and describe free resources from the Coalition to Support Grieving Students that can be used to address these challenges.

Part 3 - When School Starts Back: Helping Students, Staff, and Yourself Cope with Crisis During the COVID-19 Pandemic: This session summarizes the principles of psychological first aid and common reactions that may be seen in any crisis event, including the current pandemic. It also provides practical advice on how to help students and staff understand and cope with the current pandemic and begin to prepare for what may be needed to offer support to students when schools re-open. The session underscores the need for professional self-care and highlights some of the barriers as well as some potential solutions.

Culturally Responsive Strategies to Promote Student Success | Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC and National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC

This webinar provides strategies to facilitate culturally responsive supports for student mental health and affirming approaches that capitalize on student strengths and avoid reinforcing stigmatizing beliefs.

DBT STEPS-A Q&A Sessions with Jim and Lizz Mazza | Northwest MHTTC

Have you been watching the Mazza's live or online videos as they support their kids and your kids in developing DBT, otherwise known as, critical life skills? These 1-hour, interactive Q&A sessions with Doctors Jim & Lizz Mazza focus on their online, live-streamed 16-lesson DBT STEPS-A curriculum to teach the basics of emotional regulation and specific skills such as mindfulness, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness-essential skills at any time, but even more critical during COVID-19.

Educator Self-Care and Thriving During a Public Health Crisis | Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC

With the current public health crisis, we are facing a new way of engaging and teaching our students. While some of us may have been doing some assignments remotely in the past this new platform and the current social distancing orders have created a whole new set of stressors on our educators, their students, and families. This webinar provides some helpful hints to help us all survive and thrive during this time while simultaneously taking care of ourselves, our students, and their families.

Educator Wellness Series | Northwest MHTTC

The Northwest MHTTC, in Partnership with WellEducator & the Northwest PBIS Network, brings you the Educator Wellness Series! This Educator Wellness Series is designed for you, the educator, to take a break from what can feel like an overwhelming hustle to prepare, deliver, and support your students and focus on your own wellbeing. We designed this 4 Session Series to support you in tapping into your resiliency skills, increasing your self-compassion, creating self-care routines, building a practice of gratitude and appreciation, and celebrating - even those small successes - to support your wellbeing.

¡En español! Apoyando el bienestar emocional y salud mental de los estudiantes hispanos y latinos y sus cuidadores durante la pandemia de COVID-19 | National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC

Today's economic crisis, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures, poses significant challenges for state budget-makers. This webinar, led by health care financing expert Dr. Adam Wilk, discusses those challenges in the context of school and school district leaders' efforts to finance school mental health programs.

Fostering Resilience in Families during Uncertain Times | South Southwest MHTTC

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted life as we know it Prevention strategies used to stop the spread of the coronavirus pose challenges to the education system, school-age children, and the families trying to support their education. More than at any other time in history, families are feeling the challenges of supporting the health and emotional well-being of the children in their care. Fostering resilience in families during uncertain times is the focus of this brief.

Fostering Resilience: Responding to the Needs of School-Age Children | South Southwest MHTTC

This brief discusses how educators, school-based mental health providers, and school-age children and families can foster resilience during a pandemic-related disruption.

This presentation focuses on prioritizing self-care while working from home. Presenters introduce the impact of job burnout, as well as how to recognize signs and symptoms; define "Social Emotional Learning" and provide examples on how this can be included in the classroom or virtually; discuss tools to help prevent burn-out, and set boundaries to separate work time from personal and develop a self-care plan.

Having Difficult Conversations: A Guide for Providers, Teachers, and Parents | Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC

The pandemic, ongoing social and racial injustices, and the recent violent events on the Capitol may have you and those close to you feeling uncertain, unsettled, and overall fearful. As behavioral health providers, teachers, parents, peers, and community members, you can provide support during these challenging times in several impactful ways. Having Difficult Conversations: A Guide for Providers, Teachers, and Parents presents a number of steps you can take when having difficult conversations.

Helping Students Cope with Stress | Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC

In this webinar, participants learn to define stress and how it manifests in children; look at how COVID-19 affects stress; recognize the parallel between stress and mental health; identify how educators and school mental health personnel can help children deal with stress; identify what teachers can do; learn about concrete strategies and resources to help students cope.

K-12 COVID Best Practices Poster | National American Indian and Alaska Native MHTTC

This poster can be used in schools to help promote best practices for reducing the spread of the virus. It can be printed on 11x17 paper or smaller.

Leading Trauma Informed School Systems Change - Before, During & After Pandemic Times | Southeast MHTTC

This Southeast MHTTC webinar focuses on systems leadership approaches that embrace trauma-informed care at both the district and state levels. Highlighting local and regional leaders, this series offers both the theory and practical tips to support school workforces to implement trauma informed principles in our practices, programs and policies.

LEARN Saves Lives Suicide Prevention for Parents and Caregivers | Northwest MHTTC

The Northwest MHTTC partnered with Forefront Suicide Prevention & the University of Washington SMART Center to bring the LEARN® Saves Lives Suicide Prevention Training for Parents/Caregivers directly to you in your own home, free of charge. Developed by Forefront, the five simple and effective Forefront Suicide Prevention LEARN® steps empower individuals to help others move in the direction of hope, recovery, and survival.

LGBTQ Youth Tobacco Prevention: COVID-19 and Lung Vulnerability | Central East MHTTC

LGBTQ populations are at higher risk for COVID-19 due in part to wildly disproportionate rates of smoking, vaping, and other forms of tobacco use. Tobacco dependence usually starts in adolescence, and studies have shown LGBTQ youth are especially vulnerable to substance misuse, predatory ad campaigns, and peer influence. This webinar explores the rates, risks, and intersections of tobacco use and the novel coronavirus among queer and gender expansive teens and young adults.

Making a Good Connection: Engaging Students and Families in School Tele-Mental Health | MHTTC Network

Making a Good Connection: Engaging Students and Families in School Tele-Mental Health is a three-part webinar series geared toward providers who are making the transition from in-person to telehealth services. Session content focuses on practical strategies and equity concerns related to engaging children, adolescents, and families using distance technology. Attendees are given the opportunity to submit questions upon registration, enabling our Technology Transfer Center (TTC) Network specialists to shape their content to meet your needs.

Managing Anxiety & Return to School Webinar Series | Northwest MHTTC

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health concerns youth face. While it is a normal emotional experience, it can grow to become incredibly distressing and interfering, particularly as it comes to school. In these webinars, we discuss how to identify, understand, and intervene for problematic anxiety for youth in your classroom.

As an unprecedented new school year begins, this 60 minute webinar addresses basic classroom management strategies with a focus on preventing undesirable behaviors and increasing awareness of challenging behaviors related to trauma, grief, and stress. Viewers will learn easy-to-implement interventions to promote resiliency.

Mental Health & Equity in Schools | South Southwest MHTTC

This webinar focused on teaching general mental health, including the signs/symptoms of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation as well as practical steps teachers can take to support students. Additionally the webinar focused on the stressors and mental health implications of COVID/race/police/equity issues in the world right now as they impact high school students.

Mental Health Resources for K-12 Educators During COVID-19 | Mountain Plains MHTTC

In response to the recent pandemic (COVID-19), several national organizations and associations have shared and promoted resources to assist K-12 educators. Parents, family members, school staff, and other trusted adults play a critical role in helping children make sense of what they hear and making sure that it is honest, accurate, and minimizes anxiety and fear. This product compiles all recent toolkits, guides, tip sheets, and infographics that have been developed by reputable sources to assist educators during this time.

Native Youth Telehealth Initiative Webinar | National American Indian and Alaska Native MHTTC

In this session, Dr. George Baston, MHRD, Ed.D CTE, and Natasha Peterson, BS, cover how to implement telehealth using the "Let's Talk Interactive" platform and opportunities to collaborate with the National American Indian and Alaska Native MHTTC. An opportunity to participate in our Native Youth Telehealth Initiative, and receive intensive technical assistance, is announced in this webinar. Application information is given at the end of Dr. Baston's presentation. Six sites are chosen from the applicants.

In this webinar, Dr. Stephen Brock provides an overview of the third edition of PREPaRE, a curriculum that contains current research and strategies for integrated school safety and crisis prevention, planning, response, and recovery efforts. He also discusses how to adjust school crisis response plans to accommodate the reality of a global pandemic. Yesmina Luchsinger shares her crisis planning and response lessons learned as a state leader, including the development and dissemination process of the Pandemic Preparedness Guide the state released in March 2020.

Promoting Educator Well-Being: Compassion Fatigue, Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress in the Era of COVID-19 | Central East MHTTC

This webinar training explores the differences between and strategies to counter fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. Participants also learn strategies to enhance well-being and promote job satisfaction.

The focus of this webinar is to provide the support and information that teachers, supervisors, BCBAs, therapists and other professionals supporting youth during COVID 19 have been seeking. The challenges that COVID 19 poses to clients and students are discussed. Strategies for reaching and supporting clients via telehealth platforms and teaching students through the virtual classroom are identified and discussed. Individuals across the Autism Spectrum have specific needs and profiles that are discussed and the supports and strategies needed to address their specific strengths and weaknesses are explored.

This training was designed as a five-step crisis response strategy based on communication skills that educators and school staff use every day. The goal of Psychological First Aid for Schools - Listen Protect Connect/Model and Teach have relevance to the COVID-19 pandemic which has seriously disrupted the daily lives of children and adults all over the world. The closure of schools and businesses adds to the health risks faced by all which contribute to the stresses that students and adults face under orders of physical distancing, stay at home directives, or quarantine conditions.

Recruitment and Retention of School Mental Health Providers | Southeast MHTTC

This webinar series highlights the importance of sustaining the school mental health workforce for achieving the goals of an effective, high-quality school mental health services system. Dr. Mark Weist and Dr. Janet Cummings discuss recruitment and retention approaches that community mental health providers and local education agencies may want to consider implementing to support these goals, the current evidence concerning these approaches, and key resources to inform implementation efforts.

This webinar focuses on the mental health and well-being of children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic and the early data that provides insight into the challenges and opportunities for substance misuse prevention practitioners to support families and communities during this time. The webinar also highlights many of the resources available from Child Trends, the nation's leading research organization focused exclusively on improving the lives of children and youth, especially those who are most vulnerable.

Rising Telehealth Behavioral Health Practices-Centering the Needs of Historically Marginalized Youth in California | Pacific Southwest MHTTC

COVID-19 has forced us into conditions that challenge best practices for serving the mental health needs of youth we marginalize. Through these two sessions, we supported California school mental health advocates, educators, administrators, and other school systems leaders in managing stress and trauma in their communities.

School Community of Practice Connections and Conversations: Adapting to COVID-19 | Mountain Plains MHTTC

This meeting was an informal facilitated gathering for the cohorts that had participated in the Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center's Every Moment Counts Community of Practice (CoP) to gather and discuss the challenges, changes, and adaptations required by the COVID-19 pandemic.

School and Community-Based Trauma-skilled Practices Supporting Youth Virtual Workshop | New England MHTTC

This virtual workshop helps you cultivate a compassionate school community, using mindfulness practices and community-based visioning to address trauma, will help staff, as well as students and their families, return to school this fall with tools to overcome the mental health challenges presented by COVID-19 and amid widespread collaborative support to end racial inequity and injustice across the globe.

School Mental Health Crisis Leadership Lessons: Voices of Experience from Leaders in the Pacific Southwest Region | Pacific Southwest MHTTC

This guide highlights how school mental health leaders can - and do - work with and through crises; provides an overview of the crisis continuum; explores the intersection between school crises and school mental health leadership; and examines each component of the school crisis continuum (readiness, response, recovery, and renewal) by learning from voices of experience from the field. A complementary Reflection Worksheet is designed to help readers work through the guide.

School Mental Health Professional Series | Mountain Plains MHTTC and Mid-America MHTTC

In this webinar series, school counselors, social workers, and psychologists addressed the current and immediate needs of school mental health professionals in Region 8, due to the pandemic. Participants met every other week and received training on different topics related to school mental health before walking through a case presentation. This was a closed group.

In this period of stress and uncertainty, now is the time to gather and resource one another. In collaboration with the Meaning Makers Collective, the Pacific Southwest offered a series of School Mental Health Wellness Wednesdays. Each Wellness Wednesday is a 60-minute virtual session for the school mental health workforce to connect, reflect, and support each other.

Self-Care Through the Summer | Mid-America MHTTC

This handout for educators and school mental health providers provides tips for recharging after a school year cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Self-Care and Compassion for the Educator Webinar Series | Northwest MHTTC in partnership with the Northwest PBIS Network

During these sessions, participants practice skills to decrease stressors on mind/body systems to stay connected to the wonders and curiosities of teaching using evidence-based mindfulness practices, radical acceptance and values-driven goal setting.

Social Emotional Learning at Home: Remote Learning Options | Great Lakes MHTTC

We are all learning to navigate remote learning and education from afar. There are several reputable, evidence-informed resources available to help educators and families promote social and emotional well-being in their students outside the classroom. The Great Lakes MHTTC School-based Supplement has compiled a list of SEL resources, lesson plans, activities, games, and tip sheets to get you started on your SEL at home journey.

Social Emotional Learning at Home: Remote Learning Options | Great Lakes MHTTC

We are all learning to navigate remote learning and education from afar. There are several reputable, evidence-informed resources available to help educators and families promote social and emotional well-being in their students outside the classroom. The Great Lakes MHTTC School-based Supplement has compiled a list of SEL resources, lesson plans, activities, games, and tip sheets to get you started on your SEL at home journey.

Special Weekly Series for Tribal Schools as they Reopen Amidst COVID-19 | National American Indian and Alaska Native MHTTC

The challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic adds to existing issues present in some Native communities such as teacher shortages and the lack of infrastructure for high speed internet, which further impedes their ability to offer appropriate distance learning programs. The National American Indian and Alaska Native MHTTC's K-12 program invited the entire school community to special weekly listening sessions covering relevant topics.

Staying Connected with Students and Youth during COVID-19 | Great Lakes MHTTC

In the wake of COVID-19 school closures, educators, parents, and students across the globe are coping with a new reality. In this webinar series, we explore research on belonging and connectedness, they key tenants of virtual communication for educators, and effective strategies for building virtual connectedness.

Stress, School, and Self-Care: COVID-19 Highlights Inequities, Mental Health Challenges, Systemic Needs, and Possible Solutions | New England MHTTC

This Childhood-Trauma Learning Collaborative (C-TLC) issue brief shares results of the reflective conversations the New England MHTTC has had with C-TLC Fellows - a unique group of district leaders, educators, and school-based mental health professionals with whom the New England MHTTC has built a sense of trust and community over the past 18 months.

Student Mental Health During COVID-19: How to Prepare as Schools Reopen | Mid-America MHTTC and MHTTC Network Coordinating Office

This webinar is geared toward emergency managers, public health professionals, and school administrators who are working together to create school reopening and response plans. Session content is focused on the mental health needs of children, adolescents, and educators related to crises and how community and school organizations can partner to develop responsive plans that address these needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supporting Latinx Students and Caregivers Emotional and Mental Health Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic | National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC

This is a 3-part webinar series on Supporting Hispanic and Latino Students Emotional and Mental Health Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Supporting School Mental Health in the Wake of COVID-19: A Virtual Conference | Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC

Delivered by the Northeast and Caribbean Mental Health Technology Transfer Center and the Mental Health Association in New York State, Inc., this two-day conference for K-12 educators, staff, and administrators focused on strategies to support students and educator mental health as they transition back to school (remotely or in-person). View the recordings and slide decks for all presentations here!

Supporting Student Resilience: Strategies for Teachers During School Closures | South Southwest MHTTC

This infographic outlines the opportunities for educators and other school staff to support student resilience during the pandemic. The product provides a graphic depiction of strategies that school staff can use to promote coping and resilience. It serves as a companion to a brief report that can be found here.

Telehealth Learning and Consultation (TLC) Tuesdays: Telehealth with Children and Adolescents | Mid-America MHTTC, Mountain Plains MHTTC, and Mid-America ATTC

Mindy Chadwell, Ph.D., LP, BCBA; Erika Franta, Ph.D., LP; Jennifer Cox, LSW; and JK Costello, MD, MPH, discuss their experience working with children and adolescents via telehealth.

FAQ Document (This resource includes answers to the most frequently asked questions during the Telehealth for Children and Adolescents TLC Tuesday session).

Telehealth Toolbox for School Personnel | Mid-America MHTTC

The Telehealth Toolbox for School Personnel is a practical and concise guide to incorporating telehealth into your routine as a provider working with students. In addition to a handy, overarching guide entitled Getting Started , the toolbox contains handouts on each of the following topics:

The Future of Education: Equity, Inclusion, and Racial Justice | New England MHTTC

In this session, leaders and partners of the New England MHTTC share their insights, discuss innovative programs and recommendations, and vision for equity and inclusion in schools in 2021. You will leave with practical ideas and resources to help alleviate stress and create a brighter future, even in the midst of all we are handling today.

The Impact of COVID-19 on School Mental Health in Washington | Northwest MHTTC

The Northwest MHTTC is excited to co-sponsor the UW SMART Center's 2020 Virtual Speaker Series. Originally a series of in-person events, these presentations transitioned to a virtual format due to COVID-19. Recently, Washington State Superintendent Chris Reykdal presented on the Impact of COVID-19 on School Mental Health in Washington.

The Mental Health Impacts of Surviving COVID-19: Implications for School Mental Health Systems Leaders and Providers | Pacific Southwest MHTTC

How might the experience of surviving COVID-19 and experiencing long-haul COVID-19 impact mental health, and what can and should we as school mental health providers and leaders understand about that experience? This is a special conversation with four survivors of COVID-19, all of whom identify as long-haulers. As our speakers will share, trauma may be now surfacing because people aren't needing to focus on surviving; this trauma is surfacing as schools are reopening and as survivors are now beginning to process their experience and new realities.

The School Leader Series | Northwest MHTTC

This webinar series is focused on the role of the school leader in creating and maintaining a positive climate and culture virtually during the global pandemic and in the building upon the return to school. We know these are challenging times and want to provide information you can use immediately and to use for the plans to return to school as part of your MTSS framework.

The Value of Teacher Well-Being: A Research Brief | Mid-America MHTTC

In this research brief, learn common barriers to well-being, how teacher well-being impacts outcomes, how social-emotional learning (SEL) can improve teacher well-being, strategies for improving well-being, and steps that states, districts, and schools can take to improve teacher well-being.

This virtual session aims to provide strategies for educators to use in supporting parents as they transition to a new and uncertain role in providing daily instruction for their children. Dr. Tami DeCoteau brings her extensive knowledge and experience working with children, families, and school personnel to explore how educators can support parents in this difficult time.

Tools for Educators During a Public Health Crisis | Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC

Educators have had to adjust to new learning environments, provide emotional support to students, maintain communication with parents, take care of themselves and their families, among other responsibilities. At the same time, they are experiencing anxiety and worry about the public health crisis along with the rest of the community. These tools were developed by the Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC to help.

Top 4 Strategies to Increase Student Motivation: What Every Parent Should Know | Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC

It can be extremely challenging to keep kids motivated during this time. The good news is there are simple strategies parents can use at home to increase motivation and engagement. In this webinar, we review these easy-to-implement strategies to help keep your kids fully engaged and ready to learn.

Trauma Informed Suicide Prevention: Leading School District, County & State Systems | Pacific Southwest MHTTC

This three-part webinar series is for school field leaders who are leading systems' support for student suicide prevention. Session content focuses on providing timely, effective, competent, and evidence-based suicide prevention support to students and families. Each session is contextualized with experience and suggestions from on-the-ground regional leadership

Visioning Onward: A Guide for All Schools | New England MHTTC

These guides help school leaders implement recommendations from the guided discussion series Visioning for the Future of Education in their own schools and districts.

Well-Being Wednesdays: Taking Care of Educators Who Take Care of Kids | Mid-America MHTTC

This is a monthly webinar series geared toward education professionals, administrators, and stakeholders who are working together to create a culture of well-being that supports students and educators. Each session focuses on one of the 10 ARC practice modules and follows a tell-show-do approach. Session leaders teach one skill per session, outlining the skill, providing examples, and promoting use of the skill.

What will school be like next year? Visioning for the Future of Education | New England MHTTC

In this webinar, participants receive a study guide to take our virtual approach back to your schools and districts to conduct your own visioning sessions. Participants are guided through our 8-step iterative visioning approach, explaining the importance of visioning for success in business and in education, and helping you plan for visioning with your staff and local communities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a seismic shift in how practitioners and school-based mental health professionals provide services. This session focuses on the pragmatic questions of how to do these services with practical suggestions about what helps and what interferes with client engagement, how to prevent problems, and how to manage when challenges arise.

School Mental Health Resources From Other Organizations
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry: Talking to Children About Coronavirus
American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress: Helping Children Cope Emotionally with the Coronavirus
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Talking With Children About Coronavirus Disease Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Tips for Parents While School's Out
Child Trends: Resources for Supporting Children's Emotional Well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Letters to Strangers: Mental Health Made Personal National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): Supporting the Emotional Needs of Youth During COVID-19 Webinar
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): Ask the Expert Webinar: In-Person, Virtual and Everything In Between - Supporting Families and Children Returning to School, Thursday, August 27, 2020

(also available in National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Fighting the Big Virus: Trinka's and Sam's Questions Spanish, Chinese, Finnish, Portuguese, and Mandarin)

(also available in National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Parent/Caregiver Guide to Helping Families Cope with COVID-19 Spanish and Chinese)

(also available in and National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Trinka and Sam Fighting the Big Virus: Trinka, Sam, and Littletown Work Together Spanish Chinese, Finnish, Portuguese, Mandarin)
The Institute for Innovation & Implementation at University of Maryland: Coping with COVID-19 as a Family
For Educators and School Mental Health Professionals
American School Counselors Association: Planning for Virtual/Distance School Counseling During an Emergency Shutdown American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and American Psychiatric Association (APA) Detail Steps Necessary for Safely Reopening Schools This Fall Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: One-Stop Shop COVID-19 Resources | K-12 Schools Center for Mental Health in Schools and Student/Learning Supports: Responding to the Coronavirus Crisis
Center for Mental Health in Schools and Student/Learning Supports: Embedding Mental Health as Schools Change
Center for Mental Health in Schools and Student/Learning Supports: Restructuring California Schools to Address Barriers to Learning and Teaching in the COVID 19 Context and Beyond Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions & Support: Resources for Returning to School During and After Crisis Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety: Strategies for Trauma-Informed Distance Learning Child Trends: As Schools Reopen, Addressing COVID-19-related Trauma and Mental Health Issues Will Take More Than Mental Health Services Department of Education COVID-19 Handbook: Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting All Students' Needs
Ed Redesign Lab at Harvard Graduate School of Education: Re-Envisioning School-Based Health Centers During Covid-19: A Spotlight on Innovative Approaches
Kaiser Permanente: When Learning Starts: Playbook for Healthy School Communities Mental Health America: Young People's Mental Health In 2020
Mental Health Association in New York State School Mental Health Resource and Training Center: Maintaining Mental Health in Schools During Social Distancing:An MTSS approach
National Association of School Psychologists: Countering Coronavirus Stigma and Racism | Tips for Teachers and O: er Educators National Association of School Psychologists: Preparing for Infectious Disease Epidemics| Brief Tips for School Mental Health Professionals National Association of School Psychologists: Responding to COVID-19 | Brief Action Steps for School Crisis Response Teams National Association of School Psychologists: When One Door Closes and Another Opens: School Psychologists Providing Telehealth Services National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement: COVID-10 Pandemic Resources National Center for School Mental Health: COVID-19 Resources National Center for School Mental Health and the School-Based Health Alliance: School Mental Health Planning for the 2020-21 School Year During COVID-19 National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Coping in Hard Times: Fact Sheet for School Staff National Child Traumatic Stress Network: PFA-S: Provider Self-Care National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Trauma-Informed School Strategies during COVID-19
SAMHSA: COVID-19 Guidance for Schools and Childcare Programs
School Social Work Association of America: Supporting LGBTQ Students During the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Tipsheet for School Social Workers The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Reopening K-12 Schools During the COVID-19 Pandemic | Prioritizing Health, Equity, and Communities Thriving Schools: Resources for Schools and Families Impacted by COVID-19
SAMHSA's Disaster Distress Helpline is standing by 24/7 to support you during the pandemic & beyond. Toll-free, multilingual, & confidential support services are available to all residents in the U.S. & its territories. Call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to connect with a trained counselor.

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Responding to COVID-19 | School Mental Health Resources

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Public health emergencies such as COVID-19 have a significant impact on students and their families, educators and the school mental health workforce, as well as the school mental health system. Addressing the mental health impact on students, parents, teachers and school personnel has become more important and necessary than ever before.

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Cultural Responsiveness & Equity Resources

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Cultural Responsiveness & Equity Resources

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From the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine

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The NCSMH team grieves the racist murders of Black people in the US. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery are only a handful of recent, high-profile examples. Racism and white supremacy are embedded in US history, upheld by inequitable policies and actions, and impact the health and well-being of people of color. Within this larger context, schools have long struggled to address the racial disparities in discipline and the opportunity gap. Through addressing structural and systemic inequities long present in the education system, schools have opportunities to develop and model equitable and anti-racist policies and practices. We all have the ability to learn, heal, and grow together.

Below are resources for schools, mental health providers, communities, families, and students on cultural responsiveness and equity in school mental health. This page is created in collaboration with the Cultural Responsiveness and Equity Specialty Track of the Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health ( CREtrack@som.umaryland.edu). We will add to the content on this page in coming weeks.

Addressing Race and Trauma in the Classroom: A Resource for Educators: This National Child Traumatic Stress Network resource helps educators understand how they might address the interplay of race and trauma and its effects on students in the classroom. The guide outlines recommendations for educators and offers a list of supplemental resources. It should be implemented in accordance with individual school policies and procedures.

Anti-racist Reading List from Ibram X. Kendi: This community-created list from the Chicago Public Library contains books dedicated to helping individuals learn how to be anti-racist.

Building Racial Justice and Equity: The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development has compiled resources to collectly work to dismantle racism at every level.

Countering COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Stigma and Racism: Tips for Parents and Caregivers: The NASP resource provides tips for parents and caregivers on countering COVID-related racism.

Creating the Space to Talk About Race in Your School: The National Education Association's edjustice resources developed a resource guide to create spaces to talk about race in classrooms.

Distance Learning During COVID-19: 7 Equity Considerations for Schools and Districts: This issue brief from the Southern Education Foundation provides guidance for equity considerations in light of COVID-19.

Educational Equity and Coronavirus: Promoting Instructional Equity and Student Well-being: From the Education Trust - New York "Responding to the coronavirus through an educational equity lens starts by recognizing that vulnerable students are at particular risk when schools are closed for any length of time. On this page you will find resources for policymakers and education leaders designed to focus on the needs of historically underserved groups of students during this crisis."

Elmo's Dad Louie Explains Racism and the Power of Protesting: NBC's Today Show shares and discusses the Sesame Street clip where Elmo discusses protests and racism with his father, Louie.

Racial Trauma Toolkit: The Boston College Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture provides a manuscript and infographic on the trauma symptoms communities of Color may experience.

Racism and Violence: How to Help Kids Handle the News: From the Child Mind Institute, this guide steps those who interact with children through how to validate feelings, talk about race and racism, work through tough questions, and more.

Social Justice: The National Association of School Psychologists has developed resources and guidance on understanding bias and privilege and supporting youth and families.

Systemic Racism Explained: Systemic racism affects every area of life in the US. From incarceration rates to predatory loans, and trying to solve these problems requires changes in major parts of our system. Here's a closer look at what systemic racism is, and how we can solve it. This video is created by act.tv, a progressive media company specializing in next generation live streaming and digital strategy.

Talking About Race: The National Museum of African American History & Culture for educators, caregivers, and involved community members sorted by topics of bias, whiteness, and self-care.

Talking to Kids About Racism and Justice: A List for Parents, Caregiver, & Educators: The Oakland Library developed a curated list of books, articles, videos, websites, and more, broken down by age range to assist adults in discussions of racism and justice with children.

Teaching Tolerance is an organization who's mission is "to help teachers and schools educate children and youth to be active participants in a diverse democracy." Their website features resources to support teaching about Black Lives Matters, Race, Racism, Police Violence, and much more.

Twitter Thread of Black School Psychologists by Celeste Malone, PhD.

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The NCSMH team grieves the racist murders of Black people in the US. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery are only a handful of recent, high-profile examples. Racism and white supremacy are embedded in US history, upheld by inequitable policies and actions, and impact the health and well-being of people of color.

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Supporting LGBTQ Students During the Coronavirus Pandemic

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Supporting LGBTQ Students During the Coronavirus Pandemic

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Addressing Race and Trauma in the Classroom

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Addressing Race and Trauma in the Classroom

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Virginia Association of School Social Workers

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SSWAA COVID-19 Resources A list of resources related to COVID-19 curated by the School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA). This is updated regularly.

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Self Care for Student Support Professionals

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Self Care for Student Support Professionals

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Student support professionals are carrying a uniquely difficult burden right now. While contending with your own uncertainty, stress, and worry, you are also tasked with supporting and guiding others through this difficult moment. This resource is for you. The following strategies can help you maintain your strength and resilience in the coming weeks.

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SEL and Self-Care Resources for Educators, Schools, and Parents

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SEL and Self-Care Resources for Educators, Schools, and Parents

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Panorama provides SEL and self-care resources related to COVID-19.

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SEL and Self-Care Resources for Educators, Schools, and Parents During the Pandemic

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A compilation of social-emotional learning (SEL) and self-care resources for educators, parents, and school communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The following is a list of resources from social work professional organizations to help you navigate social work practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The following is a list of resources from social work professional organizations to help you navigate social work practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most organizations have a general COVID-19 page where any pertinent information and news items are updated as the crisis continues to develop.

American Clinical Social Work Association. ACSWA has a response to COVID-19 pertaining to physical and psychological safety and well-being for practitioners.

Association of Social Work Boards. ASWB provides information on COVID-19 and social work licensing, including temporary suspension of exam delivery, as well as a drop-down list of state licensing boards, where you can look to see what, if any, emergency provisions your state's board has made during this time.

The Child Welfare League of America. CWLA's COVID-19 page includes a variety of resources, the organization's response to the crisis, and information and guidelines from various state child welfare agencies.

Council on Social Work Education. CSWE disseminated a statement particularly pertinent for social work students and those in academic roles, with student safety as a primary consideration and allowing reduction of field hours, at the program's discretion. In Kentucky, for instance, social work programs have acted to require that student placements be limited to non-physical contact roles during this crisis.

National Association of Social Workers. NASW has compiled resources to support social workers during COVID-19. These include items on telehealth, self-care, ethics, and free webinars, among others.

The Network for Social Work Management. NSWM has put together a Google doc listing COVID-19 resources on social work, policy, nonprofit management, and related topics.

School Social Work Association of America. SSWAA has a page of COVID-19 resources for school social workers.

The Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network. SWHPN provides a page of resources for hospice and palliative care professionals during the COVID-19 crisis.

Other Professional Organizations. Contact affiliated organizations for your specific practice area for guidance and advocacy.

Dr. Erlene Grise-Owens, Ed.D., LCSW, MSW, MRE, is a Partner in The Wellness Group, ETC. Dr. Grise-Owens is lead editor of The A-to-Z Self-Care Handbook for Social Workers and Other Helping Professionals.
Linda May Grobman, MSW, ACSW, LSW, is the publisher and editor of The New Social Worker magazine and editor of Days in the Lives of Social Workers.

Published: 3/30/20

Last updated: 4/1/20

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Resources on COVID-19 From Social Work Professional Organizations

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The following is a list of resources from social work professional organizations to help you navigate social work practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most organizations have a general COVID-19 page where any pertinent information and news items are updated as the crisis continues to develop. American Clinical Social Work Association.

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School Social Work Association of America provides an extensive list of COVID-19 resources, including webinar recordings, for school social workers.

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources

Last spring, SSWAA chose a theme for the 2019-2020 school year which was tied to School Social Work Week in early March and the 23rd National Conference originally scheduled for mid-March. Our national theme: "BEACON OF HOPE: School Social Workers - Lighting the Way" has certainly been applicable in recent days. The last few weeks have been evolving quickly around the COVID-19 health crisis. We have all been in uncharted waters! Things have been stormy, rough, and uncertain. Now, more than ever, School Social Workers have the opportunity to be "Beacons of Hope" to students, families, and their school communities. #BeaconofHope

The COVID-19 health crisis has consumed much space on social media and in newscasts. Many of us have developed a new set of terms and vocabulary as the situation has evolved. We have learned terms like Epidemic/Pandemic, Self-Quarantine, Social Distancing, Shelter-in-Place/Stay-at-Home/Healthy at Home orders, and Flattening the Curve.

As School Social Workers always do, we come at this situation with resilience, positivity, and from a strengths perspective. While individuals are called to practice social distancing, increasing their distance from other humans, we can cling to our humanity caring for others and caring for ourselves. While we are cooperative with efforts to flatten the curve, we do not need to flatten our smiles and our optimism. And, while an epidemic is a widespread infectious disease, School Social Workers can spread widely resources and hope. #SpreadHope #KeepingourHumanity

SSWAA is committed to continue to support our members by curating resources, offering trainings, and encouraging our members and fellow professionals as we press on during the upcoming weeks and months. #TeamSSWAA

SSWAA will be sending weekly update emails to members with our efforts and updated resources. If you are not a member of SSWAA we invite you to join! Also, feel free to check back frequently to see what resources and tools have been added.

We stand with you! SSWAA believes that School Social Workers will continue to shine their light through these challenging and unknown times, and we look to come out of this situation stronger and more committed to our vital work. #SSWCommunity

#BeaconofHope #SpreadHope #KeepingourHumanity #TeamSSWAA #SSWCommunity

Members are essential to the success of the School Social Work Association of America. Your support allows us to offer national advocacy for our profession, public policy development, a website full of resources (much of which is "members only"), electronic newsletters, technical assistance to members, support to state associations, etc. Members make our mission possible.

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources Last spring, SSWAA chose a theme for the 2019-2020 school year which was tied to School Social Work Week in early March and the 23rd National Conference originally scheduled for mid-March. Our national theme: "BEACON OF HOPE: School Social Workers - Lighting the Way" has certainly been applicable in recent days.

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National Center for School Mental Health (University of Maryland School of Medicine) compiles a list of resources, listed by categories (e.g., Crisis, Early Childhood Mental Health, Technology to Support School Mental Health, etc.).

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Crisis Response

Disaster Distress Helpline: SAMHSA's Disaster Distress Helpline provides 24/7, 365-day-a-year crisis counseling and support to people experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. 1-800-985-5990.

Implications of COVID-19 for LGBTQ Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention: The Trevor Project brought together a wide range of academic literature to consider how the current global pandemic may impact LGBTQ youth. In particular, this webside focuses on on social interactions resulting from physical distancing, increases in economic strain, and struggles with worries about the present and future.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 24/7, 365-day-a-year hotline for people experiencing suicidal crisis or emotional disctress. Call 1-800-273-8255 or click here to chat.

Zero Suicide Implementation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Zero Suicide provides a practical framework to help support a system-wide focus on safer suicide care, even in these challenging times. This resource provides recommendations based on the seven elements of Zero Suicide for priority action steps during this pandemic.

Telehealth and Suicide Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: With the emergence of this public health crisis and the need to socially isolate, most providers have moved to telehealth. This resource provides some basic information to help you adapt to using telehealth as well as how to provide effective and safe suicide care via virtual platforms.

Treating Suicidal Patients During COVID-19: Best Practices and Telehealth: The Suicide Prevention Resource Center created a webinar from national and international experts in suicide prevention on treatment covering three treatment practices and how to implement immediately via telehealth.

Early Childhood Mental Health

Professional Training Resources on Early Childhood Mental Health: This free professional development guide provides resources and trainings on early childhood mental health. Developed by the Center for Excellence in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health in collaboration the Frederick County Maryland's Safe Babies Court Team Program.

General Resources on COVID-19

Guidance for School Staff & Administrators

Stress Management & Self Care

Students & Families

Ask A Scientist Comic Strips: These CDC comic strips explain health concepts to children. Check out How Do People Become Infect With Germs?, and How Does My Body Fight Disease?

Care for Caregivers: Tips for Families and Educators: Parents, teachers, and other caregivers play a critical role in helping children cope with crises, often ignoring their own needs in the process. However, caregivers must take good care of themselves so they are able to take good care of the children in their charge. This NASP page provides resources to support families and educators as effective caregivers.

Caring for Children: Tips to keep children healthy while school's out: The CDC compiled tips to keep children healthy and identify symptoms in them while they are at home.

Coronavirus Kids Flyer: This resource is a colorful flyer for children that explains ways that we can combat COVID-19.

Countering COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Stigma and Racism: Tips for Parents and Caregivers: The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) provides this resource for parents and caregivers for ways in which they can teach others how to counter the stigma and racism that may come from COVID-19.

COVIBOOK: Supporting and Reassuring Children Around the World: This children's book invites families, educators, and mental health professionals to discuss the range of emotions that may arise from this situation with children. The book is available for free in 20 languages.

Educator Guidance Scripts to Support Students During COVID-19: This one-page flier provides five steps for educators to connect with and support their students during COVID-19.

Healthy at Home: A Toolkit for Supporting Families Impacted by COVID-19: With the growing impact of the COVID-19 virus, ReadyRosie is developing this free toolkit as a resource to support families with information and resources for supporting the children in their care.

How to Talk To Your Kids About Coronavirus: PBS Kids provides information on how to talk to children about COVID-19 by sharing one mother's experience on her discussion of COVID-19 with her children.

Just for Kids: A Comic Exploring the New Coronavirus: National Public Radio (NPR) provides this comic about COVID-19 to help children better understand this infectious disease outbreak.

Parent/Caregiver Guide to Helping Families Cope with the Coronavirus Disease 2019: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) provides this guide for parents and caregivers on how to help families cope with the COVID-19 outbreak.

Resources During COVID-19 for Youth, Families & Schools: Please Pass the Love, through its Storms Don't Last Forever #SDLF campaign, has created free weekly age-appropriate online programs your youth, families, school staff, mental health providers, and anyone who works with children! In addition, Please Pass the Love compiled resources for school systems, educators, telehealth, and more.

Resources for Home: Plan, prepare, and respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019: The CDC created a library of tips and resources to prepare your home and the people in it to stay safe and healthy.

Resources for Supporting Children's Emotional Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Child Trends provides reccommendations for supporting children during this time, who may be at higher risk for the emotional impact of the pandemic.

Simple Activities for Children and Adolescents: This National Child Traumatic Stress Network offers activity ideas to families who are sheltering-in-place or homeschooling during COVID-19.

Talking to Children About Coronavirus: The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry provides this resource for suggestions about how parents and teachers can talk to children about COVID-19.

Talking to Children About COVID-19: A Parent Resource: The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) provides this resource for parents for ways in which they can talk to their children about COVID-19.

Talking to Kids About the Coronavirus: The Child Mind Institute provides this resource on how to go about discussing COVID-19 with children.

Why Can't I Go to School?: "To keep staff and students safe and minimize the spread of COVID-19, many schools around the world have closed their doors. For children, this abrupt disruption to routine can feel confusing and scary. This social story answers the question, "Why Can't I Go To School?" in simple a reassuring terms." (Conscious Discipline). Available in a variety of languages.

For an example of creative at-home SEL lessons for students, visit the YouTube channel of Adam Parker, a school psychologist from Colorado who uploads themed SEL videos for children with a musical component.

Technology to Support School Mental Health

School closures, along with policies and guidance on physical/social distancing, have required a shift in school mental health practices globally. Technology offers many tools and strategies to support these changing conditions and to promote the well-being of our students. The NCSMH is working to support the evolving landscape of school mental health in the context of COVID-19, including how to leverage technology. Below are resources to assist you and your team in preparing for leveraging technology to support school mental health with your students, families, and colleagues.

Policies

The resources below can be used to support a multi-tiered system of supports through technology; the resources are organized by tiers.

Mental Health Promotion (Tier 1)

Health and Wellness

EVERFI'S online health and wellness resources are designed to teach students to make healthy choices in a safe environment.

Social Emotional Learning

Closegap is a free web-based portal that educators can use to assess the social emotional status of their students each day, and get them additional support if needed.

EVERFI's free, online social emotional learning resources are designed to equip educators with tools to nurture skills like compassion, leadership, conflict resolution, self-awareness, and resilience. Register here.

PATHS is an online social emotional learning program and curriculum that is currently free to educators.

RethinkEd Social and Emotional Learning and Mental Health: This is an evidence-based program delivered on a digital platform and designed for easy implementation.

Webar-Supporting Students' SEL and Mental Heath Needs In the COVID-19 Era: This webinar from the Education Development Center covers how to support the SEL and Mental Health needs of students.

Early Intervention and Treatment (Tiers 2 & 3)

General Telehealth Guidance

Training

A Practical Guide to Providing Telepsychology with Minimal Risk: This 3-hour seminar from the National Register of Health Service Providers provides expert guidance on practice, regulation, and risk management of telehealth.

Ask the Experts Webinar Series: NASP has created a series of webinars designed to help school psychologists explore problems of practice related to the remote delivery of school psychological services. Each webinar is 30-45 minutes in length and is publicly available.

Key Developments in Medicare Telehealth Options During COVID-19: The National Association of Social Workers conducted a webinar that provided an update on guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on enhanced telehealth (including teletherapy) options for Medicare beneficiaries during the current COVID-19 public health emergency.

Responding to COVID-19 | School Mental Health Resources: The MHTTC hosts regularly scheduled webinars on a variety of relevant topics, including mental heath support for educators, suicide prevention for caregivers, and telehealth learning and consultation. View MHTTC's telehealth-specific webinars here.

Social Emotional Learning: Making it Work When Schools are Open or Closed: Get your questions answered Tuesday, April 14, 2020, from 1-3 p.m. ET, and join a deep dive on how to make social-emotional learning work in your school, whether the learning is in-person or virtual. Register via the link.

Standards for Technology in Social Work Practice: NASW, ASWB, CSWE, & CSWA collaborated on this standards report.

Telebehavioral Health Training and Technical Assistance: The SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions Telebevioral Health Training and Technical Assistance Series can help providers and health clinics understand and adopt telebehavioral health services.

Telemental Health 101: This 47 minute training, conducted by Jennifer Cox, LCSW-C, Director of the University of Maryland School Mental Health Program, provides an overview to help prepare school mental health clinicians to use telemental health to provides services and supports to students and families.

Telepsychology Best Practices 101 Series: The APA is currently offering this training series free of charge. This series contains 2-hr webinars that introduce the learner to the ins and outs of tele-psychology.

Training and Technical Assistance Related to COVID-19: SAMHSA compiled this document with MHTTC resources, including the recorded webinar "Substance Use Disorder Services in the Days of a Pandemic: You Need A Bigger Boat!", and the upcoming webinars "Changing the Conversation about Mental Health to Support Students During a Pandemic" and "Changing the Conversation About Mental Health - How do we Come Back to the New Normal?"

Telehealth Platforms

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will exercise its enforcement discretion and will not impose penalties for noncompliance with the regulatory requirements under the HIPAA Rules against covered health care providers in connection with the good faith provision of telehealth during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency. As such, covered health care providers may use popular applications that allow for video chats, including Apple Facetime, Facebook Messenger video chat, Google Hangouts Video, or Skype. This notification is effective immediately. In the announcement, OCR provides a list of some vendors that represent that they provide HIPAA-compliant video communication platforms and that they will enter into a HIPAA business associate agreement (BAA).

Other options to consider:

Public-facing video communication applications should not be used in the provision of telehealth by covered healthcare providers. This includes Facebook Live, Instagram Live, Twitch, TikTok, and other similar applications.

Internet & Cellular Data

Some home internet and cellular service providers are improving their data plans, temporarily providing free internet, or temporarily waiving fees so more people can access quality internet without disruption at this time. Learn what your provider(s) are doing:

Transitioning Back to School

Students, families, and school staff, and mental health providers may experiences a variety of challenges and opportunities when they transition back to school. There is an expected rise both in mental health problems and tools to address them. While many states may still be months away from reintroducing students into school buildings, we are gathering resources to help everyone prepare.

Plan Ahead to Support the Transition Back of Students, Families, and Staff: The UCLA Center for Mental Health Schools dedicated their quarterly e-journal Addressing Barriers to Learning to guidance and resources to support schools as they prepare to transition students back into classroom learning.

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Crisis Response Disaster Distress Helpline: SAMHSA's Disaster Distress Helpline provides 24/7, 365-day-a-year crisis counseling and support to people experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. 1-800-985-5990. Implications of COVID-19 for LGBTQ Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention: The Trevor Project brought together a wide range of academic literature to consider how the current global pandemic may impact LGBTQ youth.

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Self-Care During the Coronavirus Pandemic

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Self-Care During the Coronavirus Pandemic

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NASW provides resources, including free self-care activities.

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NASW - National Associacion of Social Workers

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National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

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Founded in 1955, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, with more than 120,000 members. NASW works to enhance the professional growth and development of its members, to create and maintain professional standards, and to advance sound social policies.

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COVID-19 Anxiety and Stress: 30 Free Self Care Tools

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COVID-19 Anxiety and Stress: 30 Free Self Care Tools

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Dorlee Michaeli compiles a list of free self care tools for social workers.

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Hi there! There is so much uncertainty right now that it is not surprising that many of us are suffering from COVID-19 anxiety and stress.

I'm hoping that this post finds you and yours well under our current difficult circumstances. My heart goes out to those of you who have family members, friends or neighbors who are sick.

Below is a roundup of over 30 free self-care resources donated by kind individuals and organizations that may be of help to you in managing COVID-19 anxiety and stress. These include various meditations, apps, coloring pages, ebooks, videos, support groups, toolkits to manage anxiety, and online yoga and exercise classes.
30 Free Self Care Resources

1. Belleruth Naparstek, LISW who has created guided imagery that's used in hospitals across the country is releasing different free guided imagery for both adults and children every day ‪at noon to support people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. Calm is offering a number of free meditations addressing sleep, practices to soothe and calm kids.

3. Curious Tribes is facilitating free virtual mental health support groups.

4. Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. is offering the Basics of Mindfulness Meditation: A 28 Day Program.

5. The Garrison Institute will be providing an array of tools to help build resilience from guided meditations to written reflection pieces.

6. The Greater Good Magazine suggests Six Daily Questions to Ask Yourself in Quarantine, and has created a Guide to Well-Being During Coronavirus.

7. Headspace is offering free meditations.

8. HealthyMinds guides you through the four pillars of the science of training the mind (meditation training).

9. Heartmath is giving 2 months of Connect with the Heart of Who You Truly Are. This is a 90-minute interactive learning experience to help you reduce stress and anxiety while increasing inner security and emotional poise.

10. Insight Timermeditation app - 40,000 free guided meditations.

11. Joan Borysenko, PhD, a Harvard-trained cell biologist and a psychologist is sharing 3 techniques for calming down during a stressful time.

12. Jud Brewer, MD, PhD has created a video with three tips for falling asleep (his third tip is especially helpful for when you wake up in the night and can't get back to sleep).

13. Mindful Org has Free Mindfulness Resources to Find Calm and Nourish Resilience During the COVID Outbreak

14. The National Women's Law Center created feminist coloring pages! to help provide a sense of calm, relaxation, and feminist joy in this tough moment. To share your beautiful art with them, post it on social with the hashtag #ColoringForHer!

15. The New York Times is offering the Calm Place.

16. Sanvello is offering its premium version for stress, anxiety and depression for the duration of the pandemic.

17. Shambhala Publications is offering free ebooks, an online course, at home yoga retreat and many free videos.

18. Shine has created a free toolkit to manage coronavirus anxiety.

19. Six Seconds has created 14 EQ [Emotional Intelligence] Resources for Emotional Health during Coronavirus Times to ensure we're each responding intentionally rather than reacting unconsciously.

20. Sounds True has created a digital care package to help you increase your resilience during challenging times including daily video sessions sharing insights from their recent online summits, opportunities for community connection, and webinars.

21. Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield / Sounds True are providing a Free Half-Day At-Home Mindfulness Retreat. Completing this retreat including the scheduled breaks and walking meditation sessions requires about three hours.

22. Tara Brach, PhD, has made a "Guided Meditation for Times of Pandemic: Calling on Your Awakened Heart."

23. Ten percent happier is providing free meditations and other resources to help providers and their clients manage their feelings of anxiety.

24. The Tapping Solution have an app with tapping meditations for COVID-19 anxiety, including "Feeling Safe and Secure" and "From Fear to Worry to Peace."

25. Tricycle is offering live online practice sessions with teachers Jack Kornfield, Pema Chödrön, Sharon Salzberg, and others to help ease anxiety amid our social-distancing efforts.

26. Yale's happiness course (the Science of Wellbeing) is available for free online through Coursera.

27. 92nd Street Y's Tools and Techniques for Helping Children and Parents Cope with Anxiety

Workouts

1. Corepower Yoga - It is also offering free online guided meditations.

2. Dance with Me - dance tutorials.

3. Down Dog - app w/yoga for beginners, HIIT, barre, and 7 minute workout.

4. Do Yoga with Me

5. Fitbod Bodyweight Workouts

6. Fitness Blender

7. Mount Sinai Calm: Virtual Classes including yoga, music therapy and art activities.

8. Planet Fitness - on-demand workout sessions.

9. PopSugar Fitness

10. Workout to Go handout - includes 13 exercises that are easy-to-follow strength, balance, and ﬂexibility exercises to do anytime, anywhere.

11. Yoga with Adriene

12. The YMCA is offering many free online exercise classes.

Need some one-on-one assistance to help you cope with these difficult times? Please feel free to schedule an appointment to see me virtually.

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COVID-19 Anxiety and Stress: 30 Free Self Care Tools

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Hi there! There is so much uncertainty right now that it is not surprising that many of us are suffering from COVID-19 anxiety and stress. I'm hoping that this post finds you and yours well under our current difficult circumstances. My heart goes out to those of you who have family members, friends or neighbors who are sick.

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Resources for Parents to Help Their Children Cope During the Pandemic

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Resources for Parents to Help Their Children Cope During the Pandemic

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This is a compilation of resources to help parents support their children and teach them coping skills during the pandemic.

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This 47-minute training from the National Center for School Mental Health at UMD School of Medicine provides an overview to help prepare school mental health clinicians to use telemental health to provide services and supports to students and families.

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National Center for School Mental Health

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School Social Work Network is offering free webinars on SSW practice during the pandemic.

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SSWN colleagues: we are happy to announce that over the next few weeks we will be offering free webinars via our SSWNetwork site focused on how SSW practitioners at specific grade levels (Early Childhood/Pre-K, Elementary, Middle School, High School, & Alternative Education settings) are all adapting their SSW practice in this COVID-19 crisis time of school building shut-downs and fragmented and confusing service delivery directives. The webinars are free (no CEUs) and you can RSVP/register for any of all of them here. See you starting next week, and a big thank you to the amazing SSW (many of them my current Loyola SMHAPP students as well as other SSW from the SSWNetwork) who are going to be leading these panel discussions.

SSWNetwork Webinar Series April 2020

Elementary SSW During a Pandemic April 16th 3-4 p.m. (article on this webinar here)

Alternative Education SSW During a Pandemic April 22nd, 3-4 p.m.

Early Childhood/Pre-K SSW During a Pandemic April 23rd 10-11 a.m.

Middle School SSW During a Pandemic April 23rd 3-4 p.m.

High School SSW During a Pandemic April 20th, 4-5 p.m.

All webinar times central time. Register/RSVP for all of them at SSWNetwork in the Events Menu Tab (100% free to join SSWNetwork and all the webinars will be recorded & streamed eventually on our SSWN YouTube channel.)

SSW Presenter Bios

Early Childhood/Pre-K SSW During A Pandemic

April 23rd, 10-11 a.m.

Megan Berkowitz LCSW (EC/Pre-K Panel Moderator) is a Social Work Supervisor at AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter Schools (Washington, DC). The AELPCS social work and counseling program aims to maximize the well-being and functioning of children and the school community. To increase access to education for all students and families, we:

Engage in child and relationship-centered best practices

Provide trauma-informed support for students, families, and school staff

Strive to strengthen the connections among the school, families, and the DC community.

Cindy Frech has been an Early Childhood School Social Worker at Indian Prairie School District #204 located in Naperville/Aurora, Illinois for 18 years working with preschoolers ages 3-5. As a life-long learner, Cindy is currently completing final course work to receive an additional graduate certificate at Erikson Institute in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. Cindy has been married for 33 years and has 3 adult children. In her spare time, she enjoys playing the ukulele and gardening.

My focus during the presentation:

My professional and personal focus during the Covona Virus Pandemic has been on how to best support various "systems".

District Level - Mental Health Resources on school district webpage and website information to social work colleagues. Sent various website information to district administration and social work colleagues that I felt was important to share. Some of those websites or resources that I shared ended up on the school district mental health resource page for public access.

Staff Level - Sent out various website information found on the internet so they could distribute to parents via our Preschool e-Learning Plans. My favorite websites are listed in my attached Power Point (e.g. National Pyramid Model, Conscious Discipline, Child Mind Institute, etc.). I have also been open to communicating with staff about social emotional questions as they arise.

Parent Level/Preschooler- Sent out many of the same websites (e.g. establishing routines, social stories about Covid-19, etc.) that I have sent to staff to parents, especially those websites that have social stories.

E-Learning Plans are Parent Led instruction. One of our School Psychologists has created a few SEL lesson plans that the parent can do with their child. These SEL lesson plans are given to the parents whose preschoolers have direct/consult services.

Parent contact via phone, email and Zoom with parents about social emotional questions as they arise (during specific school office hours if needed).

Self-Care - Establishing routines for myself at home, working to maintain professional boundaries, etc.

Gabriela Ibarra Ramirez is a school social worker with the Chicago Public Schools. She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1997 and her Master's Degree in Social Work at the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration in 2002. Gabriela is currently in her second year of the School Mental Health Advanced Practice Program at Loyola University Chicago. Gabriela attended the Chicago Public Schools as a student for 14 years and has worked for the Chicago Public Schools as a school social worker for 18 years. She is currently placed at an Early Childhood Specialty School with students between the ages of three to seven years old. Gabriela has been implementing a support group at her school for parents of children with special needs.

Description of Her Presentation:

Gabriela works primarily with children with special needs and has been implementing a weekly support group for their parents. Her goal has been to reduce parents' levels of stress by providing parent education, practical resources, and a social support network. Gabriela will be describing how she plans to continue providing support to parents, virtually, during this time of stress and uncertainty. She will also describe how she plans to continue supporting students' social-emotional learning.

Alternative Education SSW During a Pandemic

April 22nd, 3-4 p.m.

Middle School SSW During a Pandemic

April 23rd, 3-4 p.m.

High School SSW During a Pandemic

April 20th 4-5 p.m.

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SSW Practice During a Pandemic: Announcing Our Full Free SSWNetwork WEbinar Series - School Social Work

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SSWN colleagues: we are happy to announce that over the next few weeks we will be offering free webinars via our SSWNetwork site focused on how SSW practitioners at specific grade levels (Early Childhood/Pre-K, Elementary, Middle School, High School, & Alternative Education settings) are all adapting their SSW practice in this COVID-19 crisis time of ...

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University of Maryland School of Social Work, Institute for Innovation and Implementation, provides COVID-19 resources relating to children's services.

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COVID-19 Resources for Children's Services

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The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is the state's public health, law, and human services university devoted to excellence in professional and graduate education, research, patient care, and public service.

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NASW Practice Alert: COVID-19 Resources for School Social Workers (May 2020)

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TRAIL (University of Michigan initiative) offers COVID-19 resources as well as other material and resources to support mental health practices in schools.

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Ten Percent Happier provides free resources including podcasts, meditations, blogs, and talks to find calm amidst the chaos of the COVID-19 outbreak.

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Coronavirus Sanity Guide — Ten Percent Happier

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Free resources to build resilience and cope with coronavirus stress and anxiety. These meditations, podcasts, talks, and blogposts will help you find some calm amidst the chaos.

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Ethical Considerations for Social Workers During the Pandemic

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Ethical Considerations for Social Workers During the Pandemic

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NASW provides ethical considerations for social work practice during the pandemic.

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NASW - National Associacion of Social Workers

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The COVID-19 (coronavirus) is rapidly transforming the way we go about day-to-day living. What should social workers do to prepare for the impact of this pandemic?

1. Practice Self-Care

Today, more than ever, social workers are susceptible to burnout and compassion fatigue due to the multitude of stressors that collectively increase the risk of impairment and lapses in judgment. This can compromise one's competence, resulting in unethical behavior.

Social workers should incorporate self-care into their daily routine as an essential ingredient for effective and ethical practice. Self-care is not being selfish. You cannot serve others well when you do not take care of yourself.

Self-care includes sufficient sleep, healthy nutrition, positive mindset, exercise, and social support. Mindfulness, breathing exercises, yoga, and meditation practices are among the many ways that social workers can incorporate balance into their lifestyle.

2. Have a Plan

Standard 1.15, Interruption of Services, advises social workers to make reasonable efforts to ensure continuity of services in the event that services are interrupted. In the face of a public health emergency, social workers should have a plan for how to handle an interruption in services due to the need for quarantine or in the event of illness. Moreover, social workers should develop and support policies and procedures that uphold clients' best interests during service interruptions. This is especially true for independent private practitioners.

For example:

If you are unable to see clients or they are unable to get to you, what supports and/or resources can you offer them to assist them in the absence of services?

Are you equipped to provide remote services?

Have you identified an emergency backup person or system authorized to access clients' records and to assist in the event of your unavailability?

Have you communicated an emergency plan or policy and secured the appropriate valid consent necessary to execute it?

3. Educate and Communicate

In a public emergency, educating individuals and communities about the implications for day-to-day life is critical but can be especially challenging when the impact cannot be fully anticipated. Communication is key to helping consumers plan for the emotional, social, and other emergent concerns in a public health emergency.

Be proactive:

Stay abreast of and coordinate with vital local, state and federal resources that can meet emergent needs during the emergency.

To the extent possible, provide informative updates to clients using a secure means of communication that will not breach privacy and confidentiality.

4. Become Competent in the Use of Technology

In some instances, it may be appropriate to provide telehealth service options to consumers during public health emergencies. Before deciding to provide telehealth services social workers should do the following:

Ensure that they have the necessary knowledge and skills to provide such services in a competent manner. This includes understanding the special communication challenges when using technology and the ability to implement strategies to address these challenges. See Standard 1.04(d), Competence.

Become proficient in the technological skills and tools required for competent and ethical practice; and seek appropriate training and consultation to stay current with emerging technologies.

Check with applicable licensing boards regarding standards for providing professional social work services using technology in both your jurisdiction and the jurisdiction where your client is located, per standard 1.04(e), Competence. Check with the applicable licensing board(s) to see if exceptions are being made to allow for the provision of telehealth services within or outside of the licensee's state.

5. Ensure Privacy for All Electronic Communications and Records

Social workers who elect to communicate electronically with clients should adhere to ethical responsibilities related to Standard 1.07, Privacy and Confidentiality.

The NASW Code of Ethics, Standard 1.07(m), states that "social workers should take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of electronic communications, including information provided to clients or third parties.

Furthermore, "Social workers should use applicable safeguards (such as encryption, firewalls, and passwords) when using electronic communications such as e-mail, online posts online chat sessions, mobile communication, and text messages."

The ethical and other professional standards that apply to in-person communication and documentation also apply when communicating electronically. In addition, it is not uncommon for communications in the form of e-mail and other electronic means to be included in legal and professional review matters.

6. Arrange Consent for Use of Technology in Service Delivery

Social workers who communicate with clients electronically should make sure they have arranged for valid consent before delivering services remotely. Standard 1.03(e), Informed Consent, states that "social workers should discuss with clients the social workers' policies concerning the use of technology in the provision of professional services."

7. Uphold Privacy and Confidentiality

Social workers are responsible for becoming knowledgeable about their professional role in applying local, state, or federal laws pertaining to testing guidelines and reporting mandates relevant to public health emergencies. Social workers should seek ethical, clinical, and legal consultation when their ethical obligations conflict with relevant laws or regulations.

During a public emergency, questions about when it's appropriate to honor requests for client information may arise. Standard 1.01, Commitment to Clients, and 1.07(c), Privacy and Confidentiality, address circumstances that warrant exceptions to confidentiality, specifically when legal, social, or compelling professional reasons require disclosure to protect the client or others.

Social workers should exercise sound professional judgment when considering when it is appropriate to disclose client information. Social workers should seek legal or medical consultation as necessary to address questions that arise about interpreting and appropriately applying state reporting law as it pertains to COVID-19 and other public emergencies.

8. Public Emergencies

In line with the ethical principle that social workers' primary goal is to help people in need and to address social problems, Standard 6.03, Public Emergencies, states: "Social workers should provide appropriate professional services in public emergencies to the greatest extent possible."

Additional Resources

During this unique and dynamic time, social workers should check with applicable licensing board(s), their liability insurance providers, and other regulatory bodies including employers for changes in policy and exceptions in response to COVID-19.

The following resources and publications are provided to assist social work professionals with doing their due diligence to respond ethically during a public health emergency.

Related Publications

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National Associacion of Social Workers (NASW)

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Founded in 1955, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, with more than 120,000 members. NASW works to enhance the professional growth and development of its members, to create and maintain professional standards, and to advance sound social policies.