National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention

Teleconference on the Integration of Social and Emotional Learning and Mental Health
In view of the upcoming National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day in May (see the Mark Your Calendars section below), the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), in partnership with the National Center, will host a teleconference on the integration of social and emotional learning (SEL) and mental health (MH). This teleconference, “Connecting Social and Emotional Learning with Mental Health Promotion, Early Intervention, and Prevention in Schools,” will take place on Wednesday, May 7, 2008, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. ET. It will feature examples of how two SS/HS sites (Ketchikan, Alaska and Duluth, Minnesota) are using SEL as a foundation to support the mental health of all students in their projects. Participants will also learn about effective strategies and discuss challenges they are experiencing with integrating SEL and MH. To participate in this event, register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/632127236.

New SS/HS Evaluation Toolkit
The SS/HS Evaluation Toolkit, developed by the National Center, gives grantees access to tools, information, and resources to design and implement an evaluation that provides information for the improvement of the program while fulfilling federal reporting requirements and obligations to the cross-site National Evaluation. The four sections of the Evaluation Toolkit guide project directors through the evaluation process, from hiring an evaluator to communicating evaluation results to help sustain the program. This new resource can be accessed on the National Center’s Web site at http://www.promoteprevent.org/resources/evaluation_toolkit.

Teleradio Events to Address Bullying
Last month, the National Center’s E-Newsletter announced Eyes on Bullying, a new multimedia program designed at Education Development Center, Inc., to help prevent bullying in children’s lives. In addition to the toolkit for parents and the Web site that includes a variety of resources and tools (visit http://www.eyesonbullying.org), the program also features several one-hour teleseminars that allow participants to listen to experts on the subject and ask questions live. Caregivers in child care centers, after school and youth programs, and camps are encouraged to register for these events. Upcoming teleseminars include:

To learn more about and register for these events, visit http://www.eyesonbullying.org/teleseminars.html.

Save the Date: Webinar on Behavioral Health Services in Rural Communities
On May 30, 2008, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. ET, all SAMHSA grantees serving children’s mental and behavioral health are invited to participate in Bridging the Gap in Rural Communities: Accessing Behavioral Health Services Through Telehealth. This Webinar is sponsored by the Federal Intra-agency Rural Behavioral Health Workgroup in collaboration with the National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention at EDC, the National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health at Georgetown University, and the Technical Assistance Partnership at AIR. Invitations will be sent in May.

The following is a summary of key findings from the fields of education, mental health, violence prevention, and/or youth substance abuse prevention.

Improving School Climate
School climate is an important component of safe and healthy schools and is often assessed by surveys conducted at the school-level. A team from Johns Hopkins University recently studied how perceptions of school climate differed among students. They discovered some interesting differences. For example, in their sample,

School-level factors (such as school size and faculty turnover) were found to be related to school climate, although this relationship was not as strong as the researchers had anticipated.

The researchers suggested that their study indicated that strategically targeting interventions toward particular types of students (e.g., male and minority students) or particular classrooms (e.g., classrooms that have high levels of disruptive students) may result in larger improvements in school climates than some traditional approaches that target the entire school (e.g., limiting class size).

This research note is based on “A Multilevel Study of Predictors of Student Perceptions of School Climate: The Effect of Classroom-Level Factors,” by C. Korth, C. Bradshaw, and P. Leaf. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(1): 96–104 (2008).

This section highlights a few updates from the prevention field. Please go to http://library.promoteprevent.org for more news items and resources.

Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative Contributes to Lowering High School Dropout Rates in Oregon
The Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative in Hillsboro, Oregon, led by Project Director Liza Andrew-Miller, has been mentioned in a report by the Oregon Department of Education as a standout performer in continuing to reduce their high school dropout rate while Oregon’s overall rate was increasing. Read the news article at http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/04/oregon_high_school_dropout_rat.html. This team’s innovative truancy reduction and attendance improvement program was featured in our SS/HS teleconference last April (2007), titled “Every Day, Every Child—On Time, A System-Wide Strategy for Reducing Truancy & Improving Attendance.” The resource materials and audio recordings from this event are available on the National Center’s Web site at http://www.promoteprevent.org/events/materials/07archive/#Truancy.

Organized Communities, Stronger Schools: A Preview of Research Findings
Effective community organizing has a positive impact on education reform, say the research results of a six-year study conducted by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform. Through a combination of system-level advocacy, school- or community-based activity, and strategic use of data, effective community organizing strengthened school-community relations and parent engagement. Furthermore, it stimulated important changes in policy, practices, and resource distribution that expand equity and capacity at the system level. The final report of this study will be released in summer 2008. To read a preview of the findings, visit http://www.annenberginstitute.org/Products/Mott.php.

New Report on Substance Use and Mental Health for Each State
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released a new report that provides analyses of substance use and mental health patterns within each state. State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2005–2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health reveals that while all states face problems such as underage drinking and illicit drug use, the extent of these problems vary from state to state. Information from this report can be used to better target prevention and treatment resources according to the unique problems of each state. The new release from SAMHSA, along with a link to the full report, can be viewed at http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/0803061256.aspx.

May 8, 2008 is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. The theme for this year’s event is Thriving in the Community and its purpose is to raise awareness of effective children’s mental health programs and demonstrate how children’s mental health initiatives promote positive youth development, recovery, and resilience. Visit the event’s page on SAMHSA’s Systems of Care Web site http://systemsofcare.samhsa.gov/nationalawareness/materials.aspx for ideas on how to plan your program’s local activities found in the Awareness Day Planning Notebook (available in both English and Spanish).

The Grant Opportunities page is updated regularly with announcements of current public and private grant competitions. Here is one of the listings you will find:

Title: Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children's Health)
Funder: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services
Description: The purpose of Project LAUNCH is to promote the wellness of young children, birth to 8 years of age. Project LAUNCH defines wellness as a state of positive physical, emotional, social and behavioral health. The goal is to create a shared vision for the wellness of young children that drives the development of Federal, State, Territorial, tribal and locally-based networks for the coordination of key child-serving systems and the integration of behavioral and physical health services. The expected result is for children to be thriving in safe, supportive environments and entering school ready to learn and able to succeed.
Award: Up to $916,000 per year
Eligibility: Eligible applicants are State and Territorial governments and federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribes and tribal organizations.
Deadline: June 12, 2008
For more information: http://www.samhsa.gov/Grants/2008/sm_08_011.aspx

We regularly add to a detailed listing of conferences and events occurring within the National Center and across the nation. For example,

Date: July 8–10, 2008
Location: New York, New York
Title: Promoting Safe and Civil Schools: Creating the Foundation for Positive Youth Development and Achievement in K–12 Education
Sponsor: Center for Social and Emotional Education (CSEE)
Description: CSEE’s 11th Annual Summer Institute will focus on measuring and improving school climate as a research-based strategy to further social, emotional, ethical, civic, and academic school improvement efforts. The Institute will provide important research-based guidelines and resources for school teams and individuals to reflect on current practice and develop new plans to promote safe and civil schools. The Center encourages schools to send teams of 3–5 members, representing various roles in the school to support the transition from individual learning to action planning at the school level.
Web site: http://www.csee.net/climate/programsservices/si2008/summer_institute.aspx

Please visit the Events and Opportunities page at http://www.promoteprevent.org/events for a complete listing.

Emergency Services and Traumatic Stress Services Branch Chief Vacancy Announcement
Supervisory Public Health Advisor—Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)—Center for Mental Health Services
Substance abuse disorders and mental illnesses have a major impact on the health and well-being of many Americans. SAMHSA, an agency under the Department of Health and Human Services, is committed to improving the lives of people with or at risk for these disorders. The successful applicant for this Branch Chief position will provide national leadership in the implementation and administration of the FEMA Crisis Counseling program as well as the planning, implementation, and oversight of the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative grant program. This position closes on May 7th, 2008. The vacancy announcement is HHS-SMA-2008-0055. For additional information and application procedures, go to http://www.usajobs.gov—search for Supervisory Public Health Advisor (Rockville, Maryland).