Advancing mental health screening in schools: Innovative, field‐tested practices and observed trends during a 15‐month learning collaborative

Abstract

Schools are well positioned to facilitate early identification and intervention for youth with emerging mental health needs through universal mental health screening. Early identification of mental health concerns via screening can improve long‐term student development and success, but schools face logistical challenges and lack of pragmatic guidance to develop local screening policies and practices. This study summarizes mental health screening practices tested by six school districts participating in a 15‐month learning collaborative. Qualitative analysis of 42 Plan‐Do‐Study‐Act cycles revealed that districts tested quality improvement changes across seven screening practice areas, with all teams conducting at least one test to (1) build a foundation and (2) identify resources, logistics, and administration processes. Quantitative data indicated that the average percentage of total students screened increased from 0% to 22% (range = 270–4850 students screened at follow‐up). Together, these results demonstrate how school districts not currently engaged in mental health screening can apply small, specific tests of change to develop a locally‐tailored, practical, and scalable process to screen for student mental health concerns. Lessons learned are provided to inform future directions for school‐based teams.

The Development of a Preschool Mental Health System Quality Assessment using Principal Component Analysis and a Modified Delphi Procedure

“…The SMHQA was the product of a rigorous development process (Connors et al, 2016) and it is currently used by thousands of schools across the United States to assess and improve school mental health system infrastructure (Bohnenkamp et al, 2022;Connors et al, 2022, Connors et al, 2020. The purpose of the Delphi procedure was to confirm the appropriateness of items for preschools rather than to generate completely new and unique items.…”

Development of Health Screening Information System for Elementary School Children at Dalam Kaum Sambas Public Health Center, Sambas Regency - West Kalimantan

“…Students' health problems at elementary school are generally related to nutritional imbalances, dental health, refractive errors, helminthiasis, and infectious diseases related to clean and healthy living behavior [7]. Seeing the existing problems, school health units through the school health unit (UKS) prioritized on efforts to improve health in promotive and preventive forms [8], [9].…”

Universal Mental Health Screening Practices in Midwestern Schools: A Window of Opportunity for School Psychologist Leadership and Role Expansion?

“…P-12 schools have ready access to CYP and, as a service provider, can reduce many common barriers for CYP (e.g., time, cost, insurance, transportation) in accessing mental health supports (Damian et al, 2018 ; Hodgkinson et al, 2017 ; Peverill et al, 2021 ). P-12 schools have been and continue to be recognized as “the most common provider of mental health services for youth” (Connors et al, 2022 , p. 2), and researchers consistently report that when CYP receive mental health services, it is most likely to be within an educational setting (Burns et al, 1995 ; Duong et al, 2021 ; Green et al, 2013 ).…”

“…When proactively identified and paired with evidence-based mental health treatment and support, CYP may display higher levels of educational achievement and lower levels of emotional distress (Bierman et al, 2010 ; Hussey, 2006 ). Despite documented advantages of schools conducting UMHS, its alignment with MTSS (Doll & Cummings, 2008 ), and emerging research supporting its utilization, a sizeable research-to-practice gap exists (Connors et al, 2022 ).…”