Event Details:

The objective of the Idaho School Mental Health Collaborative is to engage diverse stakeholders invested in Idaho's youth to build a shared family-school-community mental health agenda for reducing barriers to student learning and promote improved student academic outcomes and social-emotional-behavioral functioning. This conversation will be facilitated by Susan Barrett, a national expert on school mental health integration. 

Participants will: 

• Learn about best practices and solutions to common barriers to integrating mental health in schools from national experts and one another
• Share successes and challenges to supporting the mental health for Idaho students, families, and educators
• Meet other state education, behavioral, and mental health leaders and leave with next steps for your agency as part of this collaborative effort to help meet the mental health needs of Idaho students, educators, and families. 

Event Recap:

This was held on October 18th, 2019 and included community partners and school district stakeholders with the goal of strengthening collaborative efforts across Idaho to support mental health in schools. Participants were given an overview of ISF, discussed strengths and challenges in providing mental health supports in schools, and agreed to work towards continued collaboration. Participants included representatives from Blue Cross of Idaho, Boise School District, Boise State University, BPA Health, Flier School District, Homedale School District, Idaho Association of School Administrators, Idaho Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, Marsing School District, Middle School District, IPBN, Optum Idaho, RK-12, SDE Idaho Lives Project, Twin Falls School District, and United Way of Treasure Valley. 

A highlight from each day was the restorative circle that modeled a way for attendees to help promote mental health and foster positive climates through relationship development. 

Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our monthly newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.