North Carolina Public Schools - School Social Work May Update
North Carolina Public Schools sent this bulletin at 05/07/2024 12:16 PM EDT
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Mental Health Month
The world is constantly changing – for better or for worse – and it can be overwhelming to deal with everything going on around you. While society is getting more comfortable discussing mental health, it can still be hard to know “Where to Start” when it comes to taking care of your own well-being.
This May, Mental Health America will help you:
- LEARN how modern life affects mental health with new resources to navigate our changing world.
- ACT by building your coping toolbox so you can manage stress, difficult emotions, and challenging situations.
- ADVOCATE to improve mental health for yourself, your friends and family, and your community.
For anyone struggling with the pressure of today's world, feeling alone, or wondering if they can feel better, this is Where to Start.
Download the toolkit | Also available in Spanish
*One personal favorite from this year's tools is a sheet you might consider posting in your office space to help students with how to ask for what they need. Things You Can Say When You're Not “Fine” is fantastic for youth, and adults.
Year Four PSU Q&A
- Yes, you will be required to report to DPI by September 15th, 2024. The reporting portal opens May 13th 2024, and only one contact per PSU will have access to the reporting portal. You will answer the reporting questions as part of the Healthy Active Children's Report, the same as last year (charters bypass the HAC portions and only complete the SMH report). You will also upload a copy of your SMH plan.
- Next week, traditional LEAs should expect an invitation to the portal by Les Spell and charters will receive a notice from the Office of Charters.
Has anything changed about what we are required to do?
- There are no major changes.
- Your plans do not have to change. You can upload the same plan with up-to-date modifications, as long as it is still what you plan to use. You also can make any adjustment and changes to your plan prior to submitting. You must include your detailed training plan and suicide risk protocol and ensure it is up-to-date.
- You will see the requirements for abuse and neglect resources that are now included in the School Mental Health Policy. These materials must be distributed/posted at the beginning of each school year. You will report on compliance.
What does the 2-hour subsequent training have to include?
- The 2-hr refresher addresses at least 2 of 6 MH training program areas, and on even-numbered years, 2 hours of sex trafficking and child sex abuse content must be provided.
- The 6-hr initial training (for new employees) must address all 6 areas, regardless of year.
Where do I find all the SMH Policy materials?
- All resources and materials can be found from the NC Healthy Schools webpage and on the SMH Policy Compliance page.
- Questions can be sent to pachovia.lovett@dpi.nc.gov.
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Promoting Mental Health and Well-Being in Schools
An Action Guide for School and District Leaders
Schools are prioritizing students’ mental health, and there are many tools and resources to choose from. CDC created this action guide as a place to start. It can help school and district leaders build on what they are already doing to promote students’ mental health and find new strategies to fill in gaps.
The action guide describes six in-school strategies that are proven to promote and support mental health and well-being. For each strategy, the guide also describes approaches, or specific ways to put the strategy into action, and examples of evidence-based policies, programs, and practices.
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May is National Foster Care Month! According to the NC Department of Health and Human Services, in the 2022-2023 school year, just over 7,600 students in foster care were enrolled in NC public schools. To learn more about how you can support our students in foster care, please visit the new Foster Care Education Program website at: https://ncfcep.uncg.edu/. |
Professional Development
Webinar: Leading With Character
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 @ 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm EST
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Do you want to change your school's climate and culture? Are you seeking strategies to enhance your character development efforts? Join NCDPI and Person Early College for Innovation and Leadership to learn how to use the 11 Principles of Effective Character Education to evaluate your school, district, and/or community climate. |
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Did you know asthma accounts for one-third of missed school days? Or that 40 percent of school-aged children miss three or more school days yearly due to an acute illness, such as the flu?
Join Alliance For A Healthier Generation for a panel discussion with peers and experts on building proactive pathways to address school attendance and child health through family engagement.
You will receive insight into unique strategies and solutions to address health-related causes of chronic absenteeism, as well as first access to a new microlearning to use with your school community.
Participants will:
- Review three significant health-related causes of chronic absenteeism.
- Demonstrate how fostering family capacity building can proactively address these health contributors.
- Explore how school teams can partner with families and community-based organizations to ensure their children’s health and well-being are cared for at school.
Effectively Responding to Incidents of School Violence
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 | 3:00 - 4:30 PM ET
The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Safe and Supportive Schools, the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA) Center, and the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE) invite you to join our next webinar: Effectively Responding to Incidents of School Violence.
Responding to any emergency can feel challenging and even chaotic. This is especially true when responding to acts of violence, including gun violence. Positive and supportive school climates and well-constructed and practiced emergency operations plans (EOPs) can ensure that despite high emotions, the emergency response is well-organized and implemented to protect student and staff health and well-being.
This webinar, the third in the Preventing and Addressing School Violence Miniseries, will share trauma informed strategies and approaches for responding to school violence, including gun violence. It will begin with a brief presentation that explores best practices in responding to school violence during a single large-scale incident and when a school experiences ongoing community violence. We will then hear from practitioners who will share the strategies they have used and the lessons learned based on their experiences.
The Community Resiliency Model (CRM) as a Self-Care Practice to Reduce Burnout and Promote Resiliency in Schools
May 15, 2024 12:00 pm
The Community Resiliency Model (CRM) is a skill-based wellness and prevention program that provides a biological, non-stigmatizing perspective on normal human reactions to stress and trauma. In this webinar we will apply CRM to schools by teaching skills for educators, administrators, and the school mental health workforce to reduce burnout and promote staff retention. Attendees will gain knowledge of concepts to understand stress responses in themselves and others as well as learn skills to help regain emotional balance after experiencing strong negative emotions. The knowledge and skills gained will help attendees avoid burn-out and promote cultures of resiliency in schools to better support student mental health.
Learning objectives:
1. Describe how stress and trauma affect mental and physical health.
2. Describe how CRM can protect and heal via sensory-motor awareness.
3. Explain the 6 CRM skills.
4. Understand how CRM can help reduce burnout and promote resiliency.
Essential Partnerships for Showing Up: Families, Youth and Community
Wednesday, May 15, 2024: 12-1:30pm PT / 3-4:30pm ET
Join Attendance Works, the Institute for Educational Leadership and our campaign partners for the second 2024 Attendance Awareness Campaign webinar, with the theme, Be Present, Be Powerful!
What is driving the continued high levels of chronic absenteeism, and how are the lingering effects of the pandemic affecting student and family engagement? What works to re-establish the positive conditions of learning in schools that motivate students to attend?
In this webinar, we’ll explore insights learned and answers to these questions. Inspiring speakers will highlight how schools and districts can co-create meaningful solutions that build upon the insights and strengths of youth, families and community partners, including health partners.
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Teacher Appreciation Week is the perfect time to show your teachers some love.
School Social Workers are appreciative of all the hard work and dedication of all our NC educators! |
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Legislative Updates
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View the K-12 Education Office of Government and Community Affairs Update from Friday, May 3, 2024. |
Short Session Has Started!
North Carolina General Assembly
Legislative Calendar - Link to the current NCGA calendar of committee meetings and sessions.
- House of Representatives - Speaker Tim Moore
- Senate - President Pro Tempore Phil Berger
- Who Represents Me?
- Legislative and Congressional Redistricting
Looking for Data?
As part of its commitment to improve the health and well-being of North Carolina children and families, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the launch of its Child Behavioral Health dashboard. The information shared through this publicly available tool will help the department as well as behavioral health providers, policymakers and stakeholders to identify and address gaps and disparities in behavioral health services for children.
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SCHOOL NURSE DAY 2024Wednesday, May 8, 2024Since 1972, National School Nurse Day has been set aside to recognize school nurses. National School Nurse Day was established to foster a better understanding of the role of school nurses in the educational setting. School Nurse Day is celebrated on the Wednesday within National Nurses Week. National Nurses Week is May 6-12 each year. |
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Operation Fan Heat Relief Distributing Fans to Eligible Recipients May 1 – Oct. 31 for Hot Weather Months
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Aging is partnering with the N.C. area agencies on aging and local service providers to distribute fans to eligible recipients through Operation Fan Heat Relief from May 1–Oct. 31.
People 60 and older, as well as adults with disabilities, are eligible to sign up for assistance from May 1–Oct. 31 at local aging agencies across the state. Since 1986, the relief program has purchased fans for older adults and adults with disabilities, providing them with a more comfortable living environment and reducing heat-related illnesses.
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Resources |
Need CE Credits? Free Online Courses!
The MHTTC Network has developed online courses currently available through Healtheknowledge.org. HealtheKnowledge.org offers high-quality, on-demand or instructor-led courses that are open to the public. Courses are free for a certificate of completion.
The goals of our free online courses are to:
- Expedite the adoption and implementation of evidence-based practices for mental health prevention, treatment, and recovery services
- Increase awareness, knowledge, and skills of the mental health workforce
- Provide free, accessible training and technical assistance
What is SUN Bucks?
The USDA has launched a new, permanent program to provide food assistance to children and families during the summer. The SUN Bucks program will officially launch in summer 2024! SUN Bucks will provide grocery-buying benefits to qualifying families with school-aged children during the summer months when schools are on summer break. SUN Bucks is sometimes referred to as Summer EBT.
SUN Bucks benefits are issued to debit-like cards (EBT cards) that families can use to purchase nutritious food. Beginning in summer 2024, families will receive $120 per eligible child for the summer period.
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