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Increased access to mental health services and supports in schools is critical to improving psychological and physical safety for students. Schools are uniquely positioned as familiar, natural settings for children and youth to receive these services, particularly for those from underserved populations. School-based mental health (SBMH) providers offer rapid crisis and clinical intervention and services directly to youth and families in their school settings.
Since 2014, legislative general funds have provided an opportunity to expand critically needed mental health supports and services in targeted rural and frontier schools and districts statewide. During the 2019 -2021 biennium, investments totaling $6.5 million from the Oregon Legislature to OHA allowed SBMH to expand services significantly from nine to 17 counties and mental health expansion grant dollars were awarded to existing School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs). A provider reports that “these funds have allowed us to be a consistent, reliable source of support to students during perhaps some of the most tumultuous times in their lives and we can do this without disrupting foster placement and we don’t have to delay treatment because of insurance changes. We can see students if they don’t have insurance or other means to pay for therapy. The fact that we can provide these services in schools means that we can see students at the time the student needs to talk to someone and allows us to develop strong relationships with schools and helps our whole agency have broader community reach.”
At the start of the pandemic, SBMH providers rapidly pivoted to telehealth and worked creatively and tirelessly to meet the needs of youth and families. Providers across programs met together virtually multiple times last year, to share proactive strategies with each other, many of which continue today. The following are examples of those strategies that programs developed and implemented to ensure meaningful services would continue for youth and families:
- Partnered with school technology departments to set up kiosks upon school reopening so students could access their SBMH providers via telehealth.
- Obtained access to virtual learning platforms that allowed SBMH providers to communicate with school administrators and educators.
- Put together videos on emotion regulation and skill-building for schools to post on their websites.
- Shifted work schedules to meet with students later in the day.
- Planned groups for individual students with similar concerns to meet together virtually to decrease social isolation.
- Provided wellness supports to educators through self-care workshops, support groups and informal check-ins.
- Created flexible strategies and supports to help staff cope with their own experiences and trauma and adjust to remote working.
We appreciate hearing success stories and believe that this is worth sharing:
“I've been working with a teen client around issues of low self-esteem, codependency, and depression. I invited this client's father to join client for sessions to provide psychoeducation regarding attachment, and he has become an ongoing participant in this client's sessions. The client's symptoms have decreased significantly, they have abstained from self-harm for several months, and self-esteem has improved. This client is learning to set healthy boundaries with peers and adults and to prioritize weekly alone time. The client's father will return to work soon, and after seeing the progress in his child's care, he has committed to ongoing participation in family sessions. This is a family who struggles with making just enough money to not qualify for free healthcare and not enough money to afford to purchase employer insurance, so receiving therapy through the school has helped remove the barrier they would have in accessing mental health treatment otherwise.”
Click here for a map of schools where these providers currently offer services.
For more details and information: fran.pearson@dhsoha.state.or.us
System of Care Learning Collaborative
On each second Tuesday from 3 to 4:30 p.m., the Oregon Family Support Network, Youth ERA and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) facilitate a time for anyone involved with System of Care work to discuss ways to develop skills that center youth and families, are culturally and linguistically responsive and are community-based.
Join on your computer or mobile app
Click here to join the meeting
Or call in (audio only): +1 971-277-2343 Phone Conference ID: 594 231 896#
Contact Nat Jacobs at nat.jacobs@dhsoha.state.or.us for more details.
A Time for Families
A Time for Families is a weekly drop-in discussion hour for parents and family members hosted by Chelsea Holcomb and OHA’s Family Partnership Specialist, Frances Purdy.
A Time for Youth
This drop-in hour is in development. OHA and Youth ERA offered a Think Tank with youth and young adults on Nov. 17 to talk about the development of Mobile Response and Stabilization Services and get feedback and guidance from those with lived experience.
Warmline
Reach Out Oregon, which is funded by OHA, is a part of the Oregon Family Support Network, has a warm line at 833-732-2467 and a website and chat room for any family member needing support.
Resource for faith leaders
OHA's Mental Health Toolkit for Oregon Faith Leaders is well worth sharing with your faith communities. As the toolkit states:
- “All Oregonians should be able to easily access mental health treatment and support. Yet not everyone can easily afford or access mental health treatment. We encourage you, as a leader in your community and in collaboration with others, to be a part of removing these barriers" (page 2).
- "As faith leaders, you have a critical role to play in reducing the stigma of mental health challenges, building awareness of available mental health support, and encouraging members of your community who may need support to connect to mental health resources” (page 5).
Provider wellness
Find support and take space to breathe with others in virtual wellness rooms available through the Oregon Helpers Wellness Initiative. Lines for Life is hosting wellness rooms for any helpers and have specific affinity rooms for groups including educators, helpers from communities of color, and foster parents.
Sources of Strength’s Wheel of Strength highlights eight areas where strength shows up in our lives. It’s a tool for strengths we lean on and rely upon. This tool and several others including self-care check-in tools, grounding activities, and more are available for free. (Bonus: these tools are made to be used by kids, youth, families, and you.)
For some light relief and fun we created three playlists available on Spotify: Forget-the-World Oregon, Hope-for-us Oregon, and Dance-it-out Oregon. This is for dancing out some of your feelings angrily, hopefully, or energetically.
Thank you to everyone who continues to provide input and feedback to our anticipated Child and Family Behavioral Health Work Plan, which we expect to have ready to share early in 2022.
Child and Family Behavioral Health 2022-2024 Workplan coming soon
The base: Health Equity, where all people can reach their full health potential and well-being and are not disadvantaged by their race, ethnicity, language, disabilitly, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, social class, intersections among these communities or identities, or other socially determined circumstances.
This graphic above is a draft representation of the different focal areas that the Child and Family Behavioral Health Plan will cover, including data, youth and family driven trauma informed care, cross system collaboration, quality, gaps and access. To support OHA's goal of eliminating health inequities by 2030, the graphic also includes OHA’s definition of Health Equity as the base of the workplan. Health Equity is where all people can reach their full health potential and well-being and are not disadvantaged by their race, ethnicity, language, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, social class, intersections among these communities or identities, or other socially determined circumstances.
Senate Bill 1 (2019) created the System of Care Advisory Council to provide oversight on the Oregon children’s system. Central to the formation of the Council has been the creation of a vision and a strategy to guide the journey. The System of Care Plan for Oregon – Two Year Strategic Plan 2022/2023 pulls together a vision of a future where young people from all backgrounds are healthy, safe, learning and thriving at home and in their communities and pushes us all to transform the way the system works to better address the needs of our youth and families who are interacting with multiple systems and have complex needs. The Child and Family Behavioral Health (CFBH) unit is looking forward to engaging in the further development and implementation of this work.
The CFBH unit is in the process of creating system indicators and trackers.
Emergency Department usage and young people who stay over 24 hours
As a result of the Secretary of State Audit the CFBH team has been examining the usage of Emergency Departments for behavioral health concerns and how long each person stays to establish ongoing tracking. Initial community consultation is complete. Reports will be generated every six months for Emergency Department visits, highlighting those young people who are held for more than 24 hours. These reports will be on our website, and we will announce when they are posted.
The CFBH unit offers technical assistance as part of its commitment to its programs. For the System of Care, we offer a Learning Collaborative monthly and support for the regional System of Care executive, advisory and practice level groups.
Assistance can include:
- Attending a System of Care practice, advisory or executive council meeting with the goal of addressing a specific issue and with the option of creating strategies and problem-solving the issue.
- Meeting with OHA, Youth ERA and Oregon Family Support Network for a 360-degree dynamic System of Care technical assistance session for specific issues related to functional System of Care implementation, such as youth and family leadership/partnership or facilitation skills around developing consensus.
- Walking through or problem-solving the barrier resolution process.
- Develop community-based strategies that incorporate System of Care principles, youth and family involvement, cultural and linguistic responsiveness, and health equity.
- Help with System of Care Policy: Moving policy into practice.
- System of Care 101: Explaining System of Care to communities and or helping regions create their own.
- Resources and tools for youth, family member or system representatives.
- Assistance launching a System of Care social media campaign.
For Technical Assistance for your region please email: Statewide.SOC@dhsoha.state.or.us
Mobile Response and Stabilization Services $6.5 million
Planning and development is in progress in coordination with the development of the new 988 behavioral health crisis line.
Opportunities to get involved: Dec. 7, 2:30 to 4 p.m. https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJIsd-ihrjwoH2pwb0wrpyuFNO0tWCjDjD8
Psychiatric Residential Treatment Services $ 7.525 million
Request for Grant and Proposals are in development that focus on health equity, along with the enhancement and expansion of this much needed service in Oregon. Due to the focus on emergency COVID response and staffing needs for our Psychiatric Residential Treatment Services providers, the current anticipated release is likely February 2022.
Young Adult Treatment Homes $9.2 million
The Request for Proposal process is currently in development in collaboration with the Intensive Services, Housing and Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Unit with health equity as a core component. We are in communication with current and prospective providers that have expressed interest in enhancing and expanding mental health Young Adult Treatment homes in Oregon.
Interdisciplinary Assessment Teams $5.7 million
We held a kickoff meeting in October with Oregon Health & Science University to begin development of this work. The work group will expand in December to include members of the System of Care Advisory Council and Oregon Department of Human Services and will begin to recruit for youth, young adult and family involvement for the project. We are pleased to welcome John Linn to the CFBH unit as the new Complex Care Innovation Specialist. His initial focus is to oversee the standing up and development of the Interdisciplinary Assessment Teams in partnership with Oregon Health & Science University. John’s 40 years of involvement with foster youth and the Oregon Department of Human Services will bring an important perspective to the team.
John Linn
What is EASA?
The Early Assessment and Support Alliance (EASA) is Oregon’s first episode psychosis program. The statewide program provides comprehensive psychosis care and linkages for up to two years for young people who have developed new psychotic symptoms consistent with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
What is the change?
On Jan. 1, 2022, EASA’S eligibility criteria will change by removing the IQ criteria. Historically, EASA has screened out clients with an IQ below 70.
Why is this happening?
The goal of this change is to make sure all young people who are experiencing first episode psychosis have access to appropriate behavioral health treatment. This change is also part of a larger movement to build bridges between systems of care, specifically behavioral health services and intellectual and developmental disability services, so that young people and their families can receive services from both programs. If a youth or young adult with an intellectual or developmental disability meets all other EASA criteria and is screened into an EASA program, then EASA services will not replace intellectual and developmental disability services, but act as a supplement and support.
What are EASA criteria?
The EASA program serves youth and young adults aged 12 to 25 at the time of intake. Individuals must have symptoms consistent with schizophrenia spectrum disorders or bipolar disorders with new onset of symptoms within the last 12 months. This is considered first episode psychosis. It is important to note that psychotic symptoms must be consistent with possible schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, which means they must not be known to be caused by another condition such as substance use, trauma, major depression, pervasive developmental disorder, head injury or another medical condition.
What can EASA offer?
EASA care is available without regard to funding source, and provides assessment, treatment, family support and coordinated vocational support for psychotic illness. In addition to treatment services, EASA Center for Excellence and local sites are available to provide additional staff training, consultation and coordination related to psychosis and EASA services.
For questions about EASA, contact Lev Schneidman, Young Adult Services Coordinator, at lev.schneidman@dhsoha.state.or.us or 503-793-9892.
Lev Schneidman
Children ages 5-11 are now eligible for the Pfizer pediatric COVID-19 vaccine. Resources for parents, guardians and people under 18 can be found here.
As we know, celebrations and gathering with our family, friends, and communities are essential for our emotional well-being.
Gatherings are safest when:
- People are vaccinated.
- They occur outside or in well-ventilated indoor spaces.
- Group sizes remain small.
- People stay home and get tested if they have any symptoms.
We hope that you enjoy the season, make time to celebrate what’s important, and continue to take care.
For feedback and suggestions for our newsletter and information: kids.team@dhsoha.state.or.us
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