Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
Nebraska’s AWARE Project addresses the high level of mental and behavioral health needs of school-aged children in rural schools, including depression, anxiety, suicide ideation, trauma, and substance use. Educators statewide feel unprepared to handle the severity of mental health issues arising daily in schools. Training for school staff to better address students’ mental and behavioral health needs has been identified as a critical priority. In response, the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) and Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services – Division of Behavioral Health (DHHS-DBH) are partnering at the State level to collaborate with the three Local Education Agencies (LEA) to improve school-based mental health services. The LEAs of Chadron, Hastings, and South Sioux City are demographically and geographically diverse, with varying levels of poverty and scarcity of mental health resources. Two sites have higher free/reduced lunch, indicative of poverty and student mobility. Each differs in racial/ethnic composition, with higher proportions of Hispanic and Native American students. All three LEAs have strong, long-standing track records of successful collaborations with State and local partners, including mental health providers, community coalitions, civic organizations, the business and private sector, and stakeholders, including students and families. State-level project staff include the NDE and DHHS-DBH Project Coordinators. Each LEA will employ or contract for a Community Project Manager and mental health treatment provider. Both NDE and DHHS-DBH are actively involved in several similar statewide efforts, such as Nebraska’s System of Care (NeSOC), Governor’s School Safety Task Force, Legislature’s Children Commission, and Nebraska Supreme Court Commission on Children in the Courts - all of which have aligned their resources to maximize sustainability through policy change. The project’s goals include: 1) prevention of mental health and behavioral disorders among students by providing positive, supportive, and trauma-informed learning environments; 2) increasing student resilience and pro-social behaviors; 3) increasing availability of school-based mental health services; 4) increasing schools’ capacity to identify and immediately respond to the mental health needs of students exhibiting behavioral or psychological signs requiring clinical intervention; and 5) increasing schools’ capacity to identify and intervene in bullying and aggressive or violence behaviors of students which may contribute to school violence. Through the implementation of evidence-based, trauma-informed practices in mental health screening, assessment, interventions, and treatment, up to 8,506 students will be served through the project each year, with up to 11,123 served in the schools across five years. Selected practices to enhance school climate, student resilience and pro-social behaviors, such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), Lion’s Quest, Calmer Classrooms, and Well-Managed Schools will be employed in each of the three districts, accompanied by Functional Behavioral Assessment, and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS).
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
