Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
North Carolina's (NC) Project ACTIVATE (Advancing Coordinated and Timely InterVentions, Awareness, Training, and Education) will implement evidence-based mental health supports and services through a full school-and-community continuum, emphasizing universal prevention/awareness/school climate, early intervention, referral/treatment/reentry, and comprehensive professional learning for school staff. Consequently, the grant activities in three LEAs will create transformation zones to scale mental health services throughout the state. The timing of the SAMHSA Project AWARE grant could not be more ripe and congruent with NC's school mental health improvement efforts, which began with the NC School Mental Health Initiative (NCSMHI) in June 2015. Since then, the state-level, collective impact partnership- led by the NC Dept of Public Instruction and DHHS Div. of Mental Health- has spearheaded an NC State Board of Education School Mental Health policy and pending legislation. Thus, NC Local Education Agencies (LEAs) are currently engaged in exploration and installation of school mental health programs/practices within a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework, building a firm foundation for grant activities. As LEAs progress toward initial and full implementation, the need for focused support in select transformation zones is both critical and logical. Project AWARE funding will provide the exact, needed-now, local resources, infrastructure, and evaluation elements for building scalable and sustainable practices. The three selected LEAs (Beaufort, Cleveland, and Rockingham Counties) typify total school populations in about 40% of NC's 115 LEAs. Their combined 68 schools will serve 34,008 students throughout the five year project. The racial, ethnic, and socio-economic status of students across these LEAs also reflects the plurality of NC's LEAs. Suicide prevalence in all three ranks in the highest third among NC counties, while juvenile delinquency and violent crime rates are particularly prevalent in two of the three sites. All three LEAs have a history of partnership with local providers and the SEA, and serve as pilot sites for NC's exploration of the SHAPE system. Each LEA has prepared an initial implementation plan for improving local mental health supports/services which together encompass the following project goals for improvement: global mental health awareness; curriculum-based pro-social prevention activities; coordinated staff training to detect student mental health risk factors; evidence-based counseling practices; effective and timely supports for students in crisis, monitoring of intensive services to include more outcome variables (e.g., progress on goals, increased attendance, positive impact on grades, reduction of disciplinary referrals); and access to/coordination with community services. These areas will form the core of NC's project ACTIVATE initiatives. In addition to direct services for students, infrastructure development and evaluation activities-particularly local workforce training to improve school climate, mental health awareness, prevention, and early intervention- will inform scaling and sustaining effective practices across all NC LEAs.
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).
