Black Youth Mental Health Initiative - Over the last several years, data has indicated that Black youth are at an increased risk for suicidal ideation, attempts, and death by suicide (Congressional Black Caucus [CBC], 2019). Death by suicide is the highest among Black children ages 5-11 and has become the second leading cause of death among Black youth aged 10-14 and the third leading cause of death among Black youth aged 15-19 (CBC, 2019; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2020). In addition to increased suicide risk, Black youth are experiencing increases in depressive episodes, substance use, and serious mental illness (SAMHSA, 2020). In addition to increased likelihood of mental illness, Black youth are also likely to be subject to institutional oppression across systems healthcare, economic, criminal justice, legal, educational, and environmental systems. This exposure predisposes Black youth to poor mental health outcomes and limits opportunities for overall wellness (Alegría et. al., 2018).
While these trends exist nationally, Richmond Public Schools (RPS) and the greater Richmond community is a microcosm of such. Students experience similar rates of serious mental illness along with suicidality. For example, in the 20-21 school year, there were 150 suicide risk assessments. However, in the following school year (21-22) there were already 197 suicide risk assessments completed at the midpoint of the school year. RPS efforts are also thwarted by challenges at the community level (i.e. youth-involved shootings and gun violence) which increase students’ exposure to violence and trauma. The increases in suicidality, trauma exposure, and mental health risks have RPS operating with greater responsive/crisis services with little resources to develop and implement effective preventative services as a part of their multi-tiered systems of support framework. As such, it is clear that there is a need to build capacity in RPS and the greater community to develop policy to guide practices to support opportunities for students to engage in preventative and responsive mental health services.
To address these needs, the University of Arizona, in partnership with RPS, is requesting $1,145,713 for 3 years of funding from HHS/OASH to support policy assessment and intervention to guide mental health services for Black youth. The proposed project, Black Youth Mental Health Initiative (BYMHI), has the following objectives: 1)Revise current policies and create new RPS district-wide policies to guide BYMHI prevention and responsive services by September 2023; 2) Increase the number of RPS students receiving tier 1 BYMHI services and supports to 100% by September 2025; 3) Decrease the number of RPS students receiving tier 2 and 3 BYMHI responsive services to 20% by September 2025; 4) Increase opportunities for students to engage in mental health prevention efforts in the RPS greater community by September 2025; and 5) Establish strategies, processes, and framework to guide BYMHI prevention and responsive services and activities September 2025. In the following program narrative, a collaborative process using the BYMHI leadership team, advisory council, and strategic community partners in addition to a comprehensive model of policy assessment, intervention, and evaluation (PRECEDE-PROCEED model) are outlined to reach the aforementioned objectives. Additionally, a comprehensive evaluation plan is proposed to monitor BYMHI program effectiveness in reaching objectives.
