educators

EDUCATORS

THERE’S A BETTER WAY TO HELP

The Students Who Need You Most

The Mental Health Continuum is reframing and transforming how our schools think about and respond to mental health crises. As the mental health needs of our students and families has increased, so has the need to reassess our standard operating procedures for addressing and supporting students in crisis. We know from historical data, both before and during the pandemic, that far too many of our schools are unnecessarily routing our children experiencing mental health episodes to Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

There is a better way and that is the Mental Health Continuum.

WHAT IS DIFFERENT IN MENTAL HEALTH CONTINUUM SCHOOLS?

ADDRESSING ROOT CAUSES OF STUDENT BEHAVIORWe address the root causes of student behaviors and work directly with students to develop their skillsets to meet expectations through collaborative problem solving.
IMPROVING CONNECTION TO CAREWe create continuums of care by aligning and connecting school and community mental health service models, including expediting referrals to Health + Hospitals Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Clinics.
TAILORING CRISIS RESPONSEWe better assess school-based crises involving students experiencing mental distress and consider different response pathways to minimize unnecessary calls to 911.

WHOLE-SCHOOL COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING

Collaborative Problem Solving (“CPS”) is an evidence-based model that has demonstrated effectiveness with children who have a wide range of social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. Unlike traditional models of discipline, CPS avoids the use of power, control, and motivational procedures and instead focuses on teaching students the skills they need to succeed. Similar to students with learning disabilities who struggle with thinking skills in areas like reading, writing, or math, research has shown that students with behavioral challenges lack thinking skills related to flexibility, frustration tolerance, and problem solving. CPS teaches these skills primarily through helping children and the adults with them learn to resolve problems in a collaborative, mutually satisfactory way. Use of CPS helps schools move away from a punitive model to a problem-solving, skill-building approach in which students take responsibility for long-term behavioral change in an environment where the adults are trained to support them.

THINK KIDS AND LIVES IN BALANCE PARTNERSHIP

We have partnered with Think Kids and Lives in the Balance to train school staff on how to implement this new way of supporting students. Check with your school leadership team today to see which model your school is implementing and to get access to training.

SCHOOL-BASED CONTINUUMS OF CARE

NYC is continuing to invest in strengthening our school and community mental health offerings. Your School Social Worker or School Counselor can provide information about your school’s mental health program. Mental Health Continuum schools also have expedited referrals to Health + Hospitals Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Clinics in the following locations (see below). Your school’s Mental Health Manager can provide more information about this exciting partnership with Health + Hospitals or you can email ocsw@schools.nyc.gov and schoolmentalhealth@schools.nyc.gov for more information.

H+H CHILD AND ADOLESCENT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINICS

South Bronx

  • Lincoln (Hospital based)
  • Morrisania (Gotham)

Central Brooklyn

  • Woodhull (Hospital based)
  • Kings County Hospital (Hospital based)
  • East NY Diagnostic and Treatment Center (Gotham)

NEW CRISIS RESPONSE PATHWAYS

NYC Public Schools takes crisis response very seriously and the safety and wellness of our students, families, and staff is a top priority. The Mental Health Continuum encourages adult leaders in our schools to stay up-to-date on best practices for responding to ongoing emergencies, including better supporting students who are experiencing mental health crises. Below are crisis resources to support school-based teams in limiting unnecessary calls to 911 and ensuring students are getting the right care when they need it.

IMMEDIATE MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES

If you are having trouble getting mental health supports in your school, we can help. If you have mental health needs that are life threatening and/or require immediate attention, please call 911. We also want you to be aware of other mental health supports that are available to you free of charge.

NYC Public Schools Logo

For questions, please email

ocsw@schools.nyc.gov and schoolmentalhealth@schools.nyc.gov

twitter