Created in 1935, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is a national membership organization of over 67,000 pediatricians and child health professionals with a longstanding commitment to children, adolescents, and young adults. Through its infrastructure of board-appointed and member-selected national committees and councils, the AAP brings abundant subject matter expertise in school health, mental health (MH), and chronic condition management. Leveraging this expertise, the AAP is unparalleled in its capacity to create mental health and school health services policy based on best practices and evidence-based research, and to translate policy into practices and programs in schools and in healthcare settings via education and support.
Purpose: The proposed application addresses the School Health Services priority area, and will achieve the outcomes identified in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) by utilizing the AAP Enhancing School-Based Health and MH Services through Training, Education, Assistance, Mentoring, and Support (TEAMS) model. The proposed “TEAMS project” will incorporate TEAMS to provide TA, specialized PD and training, and intensive program implementation support to develop, implement, and evaluate evidence-based policies, practices, and programs that expand access to physical, mental, and behavioral health services, improve the delivery of school-based MH and health services, increase reimbursement for services, and improve the management of chronic health conditions. Program outcomes will further be accomplished by leveraging partnerships via a two-prong approach: 1) Creating a training-of-trainers (ToT) cadre to work with SEAs, state health/behavioral health agencies, and other partner organizations, to build their capacity to train school districts in their state, and 2) Working directly with CDC-funded districts and/or schools that are located in states that did not apply to participate in the TEAMS Program ToT to increase physical, mental, and emotional well-being among students and staff. Both approaches will be supported with the creation, promotion, and use of evidence-based tools and resources.
Outcomes (Outcomes in bold will be measured as required by CDC): The TEAMS project will achieve the following outcomes by the end of the project period: 1) Increased ability to identify and promote the use of appropriate health promotion strategies; 2) Increased use of CDC and other evidence-based tools and resources, including (a) development of school health tools and resources that promote health equity, (b) CDC-funded SEAs, districts, or schools using CDC and other evidence-based tools and resources, and (c) tools and resources developed through collaborative partnerships between health, education and other organizations to assess school health policies, practices and programs; 3) Increased adoption and implementation of evidence-based school health policies, practices and programs among state education agencies, districts and schools, including (a) development of, revision, or adaptation of school health policies aligned with the WSCC approach and/or implementation of evidence-based practices and programs that support school health in CDC-funded SEAs, districts or schools; 4) Demonstrated expansion of school-based MH and health services, including (a) implementation of school-based MH and health services in the CDC-funded SEAs, districts, and schools, and 5) Increased systems and environments that support the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of students and school staff.
