Enhancing School-Centered Mental Health Services

Background

This project is designed to strengthen and evaluate Lutheran Social Services’ School-Centered Mental Health (SCMH) model, which combines traditional school-based counseling with in-home support provided by a family coach. Through screening, referral, and service coordination, family coaches address social determinants of health and enhance family stability, reinforcing the impact of school-based clinical services on children’s mental health and well-being.

The proposed project is expected to reach 240 youth and their families during the three-year grant cycle, and at least 100 community members and 15 community partner agencies will be directly impacted. A multi-method evaluation will focus on the following aims: (1) assessing the extent to which the SCMH program is feasible, appropriate, and acceptable for the intended population; (2) documenting whether project activities and the SCMH protocols are implemented as intended; (3) examining preliminary program outcomes that are linked to the SCMH program overall and the family coach approach specifically. Lessons learned will be used for continuous improvement and refinement of the program model in anticipation of future dissemination and implementation research.