Please carefully read both the case “Building on Strengths: A School-Based Mental Health Program” in the e-reader and the attached "Brief Background on School Mental Health Programs and Services" supplemental material. Respond to the following questions. In order to have a productive class discussion, you must do some preliminary work. Answer the following questions and submit your responses on BlackBoard. This assignment will take additional research and some time to create thoughtful responses. Answer in complete sentences using proper grammar in narrative (not bullet points) format. Remember to bring a copy with you to class so you are prepared for discussion. Be sure to cite your sources (and you should have some) as you use them and include a complete listing at the end of your submission. Use correct APA format. Your preparedness and participation will be evaluated as part of your overall case study grade.
1.What are the similarities and difference between documented and undocumented workers? Cite your source.
2.How are mental health issues generally viewed in the Latino immigrant community? Cite your source.
3.Considering your answers to the first two questions, what barriers to engaging immigrant parents (both documented and undocumented) might be encountered when implementing school based mental health program? How can these 4.challenges be addressed?
What aspects of the Building on Strengths are the most important to preserve in light of impending funding cuts (i.e.: training parents, cultural competence training for teachers, providing direct services, improving data collection and evaluation, focusing on partnership development, engaging in anti-stigma campaigns, etc.)? Choose two elements. What is your rationale for these choices? Who should be involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of these program components? Identify the barriers/challenges to the elements you selected.
Brief Background on School Mental Health Programs and Services
The integration of mental health services in school settings, or school mental health (SMH), involves the delivery of mental health care to youth and families in a setting that many consider more familiar and less stigmatizing than community mental health settings. While there is no one common definition of SMH, some have proposed that SMH includes a full continuum of mental health promotion programs and services in schools, including the promotion of social and emotional learning and life skills, preventing emotional and behavioral problems, identifying and intervening in these problems early on, and providing intervention for established problems.
SMH programs often take a public health approach to addressing the unmet mental health needs of entire school populations. In order to accomplish this, SMH programs include an array of services consisting of three levels of care; primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention services.
· Primary Prevention (also known as Universal Prevention Services) – Prevention services available to the entire student body, the school staff, or parents/guardians (depending on the target audience for a particular intervention) are delivered to prevent the development of serious mental health problems and to promote positive development among children and youth. Program examples included staff professional development, mental health educational workshops for parents/guardians, school staff, or students, and evidence-based or promising school-wide or classroom-based substance abuse and violence prevention programs.
· Secondary Prevention (also known as Selective Prevention Services) – Students identified at elevated risk for developing a mental health problem are offered one of a number of early intervention services. These interventions could include involvement in support groups, focused skills training groups, dropout prevention programs, and training or consultation for families and teachers who work with identified children.
· Tertiary Prevention (also known as Indicated Prevention Services) – Students with more intense or chronic problems who need more targeted support are offered a number of brief treatment services. The aim is to minimize the impact of the problem and help restore the child or adolescent to a higher level of functioning. Examples of these clinical services included individual and family counseling, and therapeutic groups (i.e., grief and loss groups). Students who need more intensive services may be referred for community-based services outside the school depending on their need for more specialized care.