Arkansas AWARE 2022 will impact educators, students, and community stakeholders by developing sustainable infrastructure for school-based mental health programs, including implementing a best practice public health model site and a statewide training model. Both efforts will promote healthy social and emotional development of school-age youth, prevent youth violence in school settings, and support educator wellness across the state of Arkansas.
The best practice public health model component of the project will focus on, and serve, the entire Berryville School District, which includes 4 schools with a total enrollment of 1,832 students, many of whom indicate significant risk factors for mental health issues based on an annual needs assessment survey conducted. The work at the Berryville School District will inform efforts in other Arkansas schools as best practice models are developed. The state-wide training model component of the project will focus on 261 districts across the state (1042 schools) that employ
over 34,000 certified teachers, approximately 37,000 other support staff, and close to 475,000 students. The state currently ranks 47th in the prevalence of youth mental illness (and has one of the highest rates of traumatized youth). In addition, Arkansas is 42nd in access to mental health services; thus this state-wide approach is expected to help address those deficiencies by equipping those who work with school-age youth to be able to better assist the youth. As part of this component, 6,000 individuals are expected to be trained per year (200 training sessions with at least 30 people attending each session), with 30,000 being trained across the entire project period.
The specific goals of Arkansas AWARE 2022 are as follows:
Goal 1: Increase resilience and mental health well-being for school-aged youth in Arkansas, starting with the Berryville School District by (a) increasing access to direct mental health services for students, (b) increasing staff and student knowledge of resilience and mental health well-being, and (c) developing a school safety and threat/violence prevention plan.
Goal 2: Increase knowledge in those who interact with school-aged youth in Arkansas to understand and detect the signs and symptoms of mental health, substance use, and co-occurring disorders by (a) establishing a statewide training model, (b) ensuring all trainers have appropriate certifications, (c) providing trainings to teachers and community members.
Goal 3: Increase and improve access to culturally relevant, developmentally appropriate, and trauma informed school and community-based services, starting with Berryville School District by (a) developing a collaborative partnership/Advisory Board to guide and support project efforts, (b) conducting a needs assessment of the Berryville District (leading to both implementation and sustainability plans based on the results), (c) developing a three-tiered public health model, and (d) developing screening and referral processes, including training for teachers and paraprofessionals on the procedures.
