Schools across the state can improve their ability to recognize and respond to youth mental health challenges by participating in the Comprehensive School Mental Health Technical Assistance Project, according to an advisory from the New Jersey Department of Education.
As part of Gov. Phil Murphy’s “Strengthening Youth Mental Health” initiative, the NJDOE, in collaboration with the Rutgers Center for Comprehensive School Mental Health, invites school districts to apply for an opportunity to participate in the project.
This three-year project is designed to build internal capacity and expertise within a school to support the implementation and sustainability of comprehensive school mental health as described in the New Jersey Comprehensive School Mental Health Resource Guide. As part of the project, each school will identify school mental health leads and a comprehensive school mental health team. Project participants will receive:
- Individualized consultation and technical assistance to implement comprehensive school mental health systems.
- Training to increase educator capacity to enhance mental health programming and service delivery within the district. (Training topics include school assessment and action planning, mental health promotion, early intervention services, alignment of student services using a data-driven process, risk assessment and suicide prevention.)
- Coaching support to identify evidence-based tier two and three interventions.
- Membership for the school mental health leads in the School Mental Health Leadership Academy to promote sustainability and community building across schools and districts.
Schools interested in being considered for this project must submit an online application by May 31, 2023. Additional information about this opportunity can be found on the Rutgers Center for Comprehensive School Mental Health website.
Should you have questions regarding this opportunity, please contact the Office of Student Support Services.