WEDNESDAY, April 17, 2024
2:30 - 4:00 p.m. PT
[Find your local time zone here]
Workshop 5 of 6 in the "Trauma-Informed, In School Sessions" Workshop Series (view series page for full details)
"You Can Talk to Me": A Family Guide to Support Students' Mental Health and Well-Being
Trauma Informed Principle to Practice: Trustworthiness & Transparency, Collaboration & Mutuality
How might we partner with parents, caregivers and families through trauma informed approaches to support the mental health and well-being of the children and teens in their lives? In 2023, Project Cal-Well (a cross-agency mental health initiative led by the California Department of Education to promote mental health awareness and wellness among California's K-12 students) designed the Family Guide to Supporting Young People’s Mental Health and Well-Being for parents and other caregivers (available in English and Spanish), with input from families, educators, mental health professionals, and youth. By sharing tips for families on how to have conversations about social media use, mental health, anti-LGBTQ experiences, bullying and more, this guide provides parents and other caregivers with information and easy-to-use strategies to support their children’s overall well-being and mental health.
How did the guide’s authors partner with students and their families to create this guide? How might we support students and families to dig into its information and leverage this resource to partner with parents and other caretakers? Join us to explore these questions, and the guide itself, while learning from several of its authors about how the guide’s development process was trauma informed.
Participants will: (1) learn about the development and content of the guide; (2) have the opportunity to consider how to get the guide and related local resources into the hands of families; and (3) generate ideas for how to use individual sections of the guide to align with a school’s continuum of trauma-informed approaches and social, emotional, and behavioral supports.
Audience: Educators, school site leaders, school mental health professionals, youth advocates, trauma-informed professionals, family and caregivers, family mental health advocates, technical assistance providers, and anyone interested.
Hilva Chan, MSW, is an Education Programs Consultant with the California Department of Education. Hilva has extensive experience coordinating and managing programs promoting youth resiliency and wellness both at the state and local levels, and has managed several federal grants addressing school safety, positive school climate, and student mental health. She is currently the program director for two mental health projects, Project Cal-STOP and Project Cal-Well, and oversees the statewide implementation of the California School Climate, Health and Learning Surveys.
Kenwyn Derby, MSW (she/her) is a Senior Research Associate at WestEd. Kenwyn partners with educators, policymakers, and community members at local and state levels to generate and apply evidence to improve student outcomes, with a focus on supporting the whole child, increasing family engagement, and improving school climate and culture. Her work, from coaching school teams to facilitating LEA improving networks, emphasizes equitable access and outcomes for all K–12 students and their families. She is a co-author of the Project Cal-Well Family Guide to Supporting Young People’s Mental Health and Well-Being: Information, Tips, and Resources. Kenwyn holds master’s degrees in organizational psychology and social work. She is also a part-time practicing clinical social worker in a community-based mental health agency.
Lisa Howard, is a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) coordinator for the Del Norte County Office of Education in California. She is the county lead for the Community Schools Partnership Program, Learning Communities for School Success Program as well as the CalHOPE, Project Cal-Well, and Mental Health Awareness Training grants. With 25 years of teaching experience, adapting new resources to meet the needs of students and their families is her strength. As part of her family engagement work, Lisa adapted the Family Guide to Supporting Young People’s Mental Health and Well-Being into a learning experience for families to increase their knowledge and access to mental health resources in schools and the community. Implementing these practices, she has found success connecting public agencies, private providers, nonprofit, tribal and community-based organizations with families in need.
Natalie Romer, Ph.D (she/her) is a Senior Program Associate in WestEd’s Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities content area. She leads and supports state and federally funded projects that include technical assistance, research, evaluation, and training focused on developing effective and efficient systems to support the social and emotional well-being and mental health of school communities. Natalie has been supporting Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) SEA programs since 2013. She provides technical assistance to Project Cal-Well and is a co-author of the Family Guide to Supporting Young People’s Mental Health and Well-Being: Information, Tips, and Resources. Natalie is also a licensed psychologist, nationally certified school psychologist, and board-certified behavior analyst.
