Products and Resources Catalog

This event is part of the UW SMART Center's 2023 Virtual Speaker Series. Learn more about the series here.  Doing the work! Ensuring Equity and Cultural Responsiveness in Urban Implementation within the MTSS framework Description: Equity and student mental health needs must be considered when utilizing the Multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework. Doing the work requires educators to be aware of inequities within data and the present mental health needs of the students they serve. Intentionally connecting all available information when making decisions is key to successful  implementation of tiered systems. This presentation will address the need to incorporate equitable and culturally responsive practices when implementing systems to support students. Objectives: Explain the importance of educating the educator on student mental health. Discuss the importance of disaggregating data for disparity. State the importance of involving stakeholders in making decisions to action plan. Materials & Resources: PowerPoint Presentation   About the Presenters: Tynara Blount, M.S Director of Culturally Responsive Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) at The School District of Philadelphia Tynara Blount is the Director of Culturally Responsive Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (CR-PBIS) for the School District of Philadelphia. In this role, Tynara leads a team of 20 district-level CR-PBIS coaches who support over 100 public schools in their implementation of CR-PBIS. Her post graduate career began in the Criminal Justice system where she also volunteered to teach students at a local high school the techniques required to debate a court case. It was this experience with students that inspired her to enter the education field. Fully committed to students, teachers, and leaders, Tynara has dedicated the past 19 years to  education to ensure equity and belonging are central to our collective work. Her past experiences include working as a School Transformational Facilitator at Johns Hopkins University. She also brings a wealth of knowledge from her tenure as a Director of Education, high school advanced placement teacher, District CR-PBIS Coach, Lead CR-PBIS Coach, and Assistant Director of CR-PBIS. Tynara earned a BS in Criminal Justice with a minor in Communications from West Chester University and a MS in Criminal Justice Administration from St. Joseph's University. She is a loving mother and a wife, happily married to her husband of nine years. Tynara is a champion and community-centered leader, committed to the daily support of ensuring schools work collaboratively with students, families and community members.    Tianna Bilal, M.S Assistant Director of Culturally Responsive PBIS at The School District of Philadelphia Tianna Bilal has been working in the education field for the past seven years. Prior to working in education, she spent 15 years working in the substance use/mental health field in various roles. Tianna attended The Pennsylvania State University, where she received her undergraduate degree in 2003, majoring in Human Development and Family Studies. She received her Master’s of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 2013. Tianna currently works as the Assistant Director for Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) for the School District of Philadelphia. In this role, she supports the implementation of PBIS in over 100 District schools.       Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.

This event is part of the UW SMART Center's 2023 Virtual Speaker Series. Learn more about the series here.  The Climate of Educator Bias-based Beliefs Effect on MTSS Implementation Description: The environment of schools comprises features of practice, policies, procedures, and beliefs. This presentation will discuss the types of bias-based beliefs educators bring into school that complicate the ways in which promising practices are implemented. Specific attention to elements of MTSS implementation that can be compromised by educator bias-based beliefs.  Objectives: Understand bias-based beliefs present in educational practice. Understand ways to interrupt bias-based beliefs. Understand ways to improve MTSS implementation through interruption of bias-based beliefs.   Materials & Resources: PowerPoint Presentation   About the Presenter: Edward (Eddie) Fergus, Ph.D. Professor of Urban Education in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University – Newark Dr. Edward (Eddie) Fergus is Professor of Urban Education in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University – Newark. Prior to joining Rutgers University – Newark, Dr. Edward Fergus was Associate Professor of Urban Education and Policy at Temple University (2017-2022) and Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at New York University (2013-2017), and Deputy Director of the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education at New York University (2004-2013).  As a former high school social studies teacher, program evaluator, and community school program director, Dr. Fergus is continuously approaching research with an attention to its application within educational settings. Dr. Fergus’ work is on the intersection of educational policy and outcomes with a specific focus on Black and Latino boys’ academic and social engagement outcomes, disproportionality in special education and suspensions, and school climate conditions. He has published more than four dozen articles, book chapters, evaluation reports, and five books including Skin Color and Identity Formation: Perceptions of Opportunity and Academic Orientation among Mexican and Puerto Rican Youth (Routledge Press, 2004), co-editor of Invisible No More: Disenfranchisement of Latino Men and Boys (Routledge Press, 2011), co-author of Schooling For Resilience: Improving Trajectory of Black and Latino boys (Harvard Education Press, 2014), author of Solving Disproportionality and Achieving Equity (Corwin Press, 2016), co-editor of forthcoming book Boyhood and Masculinity Construction in the US (Routledge Press, forthcoming), and Unpacking the Cultural Shopping Cart: The Cross-Cultural Lives to Challenge School Segregation (Corwin, forthcoming). Fergus has worked with over 120 school districts since 2004 on educational equity and school reform, specifically addressing disproportionality in special education and suspension. Fergus partners with state education departments such as California, Maryland, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Texas and serves on various boards such as NY State Governor’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Group (2010-present), appointed in 2011 to the Yonkers Public Schools Board of Education (2011-2013 and 2019-2021), National Center on Learning Disabilities (2020-present), and is an expert consultant for the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division on Educational Opportunities (2014-2016), New York State Attorney General’s Office (2022), and NAACP Legal Defense Fund (2018).  Dr. Fergus received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Secondary Education – Broad Field Social Studies from Beloit College and a doctorate in Educational Policy and Social Foundations from the University of Michigan.  Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.

About this Resource: The Southeast MHTTC Newsletter highlights upcoming events and recently released products as well as shares information on available resources from SAMHSA and the MHTTC network.  The May 2023 issue promotes May Awareness events (National Mental Health Awareness Month & Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month), highlights our upcoming events and recently developed products, celebrates efforts being done by Region IV states, and provides resources available through the MHTTC Network and SAMHSA to connect individuals to needed treatment and support. 

The UW SMART Center partnered with the Northwest MHTTC to create a document that includes resources to Addressing the Impact of Racism and Associated Trauma in order to Support Youth in Schools and at Home. Intended for caregivers and educators to use as a resource to help students process feelings and stress associated with racial trauma. Research shows that acts of racism and discrimination negatively impacts students’ mental health and well-being (Malone et al., 2022). Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.

A toolkit for behavioral health prevention and treatment providers, recovery community organizations, and individuals in recovery with practical information and tools to enhance their capacity to engage in effective stigma reduction efforts.

Recording of the Rock Recovery-led event More Than Just a Number: How Debunking Diet Culture Can Lead to a Positive Self-Image, originally held on March 21, 2023.   Presentation slides

Please feel free to share with anyone that might be interested in registering. The UW SMART Center Speaker Series is bringing esteemed scholars virtually to elevate our understanding of issues related to school mental health and critical topics in education. The School Mental Health Supplement to the Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center is co-sponsoring the SMART Center 2023 Virtual Speaker Series: Equity-Centered MTSS and Implications for School Mental Health. Full Series details can be accessed here. Learn more about the UW SMART Center here. Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.

About this Resource: Structural competency is a term used in health education to describe the ability of health care providers to appreciate how symptoms, clinical problems, diseases and their own attitudes toward their patients are influenced by the social determinants of health. This guide is meant to provide a framework for incorporating structural competency into provider interactions with certified peer specialists and into their interactions with the populations that they serve.

About this Resource: According to the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), Black Americans have substantially lower access to mental health and substance-use treatment services despite rates of behavioral health disorders not significantly different from the general population. There are multiple barriers to accessing mental health care within the Black community. While stigma surrounding mental health remains high, access to Black mental health professionals remains a challenge as well (Ward et al., 2013). Only 4% of therapists in the US identify as Black; and among Black therapists, only 4% are Black men. (Lin et al., 2018). Identifying strategies that increase access to quality care and decrease stigma among Black or African Americans remains a priority. The Confess Project of America, which trains community leaders such as barbers and beauticians to offer support and bridge the gap between unmet mental health needs in African American communities, is one emerging practice that may hold promise. 

January 12, 2023 Is your school prepared to care for all of the students, staff, and families in your community? Educators are often the first line of support in addressing mental health needs for students. They recognize the impact mental health has on learning and achievement. Ready your school community to weather stress, trauma, and promote well-being for your entire school population. In this session, school staff:   Learned how to implement the Compassionate School Mental Health model being used to enhance services to schools and districts in the New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center's Childhood Trauma-Learning Collaborative. Gained an understanding of how a compassionate school mental health support system can help schools create systems, policies, and protocols to prevent, address, and recover from tragedies and crises including staff or student suicide, school violence, natural disasters, and global pandemics.   Watch a recording of this 1/12/23 session. Access "6 Steps to Guide Your Mental Health Literacy Action Plan."

Happy New Year, Friend! Our wish for you in 2023...  May your Multi-tiered System of Supports flow like a beautiful symphony.   May your thirst for school mental health resources be quenched through the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network's many offerings.   May your desire for connection and networking in Region 10 be fulfilled during the variety of conferences offered throughout the year – hot tip: see our list of upcoming conferences below!   May your surveys and assessments return more favorable data, showing students are starting to recover from pandemic lows.   May you recognize and use the magic you hold in elevating student mental health within your schools and communities.   Together, we are making an impact, so please do not hesitate to let us know how we can support you on this quest.   Cheers to good health, new beginnings, and opportunities for change!   Sign up for our School Mental Health Newsletter!  Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.

Dear Friend, Despite the loss of an hour of sleep, we are grateful for daylight savings time. The additional daylight hours are fueling us through the last months of the academic year. Thank goodness, too, because we have A LOT of projects we are working on! We are very excited to share them with you. Keep reading to learn about our 2023 Speaker Series on Equity-Centered MTSS and Implications for School Mental Health now in progress, our recently released resource on Addressing the Impact of Racism and Associated Trauma, our upcoming workshops in Alaska, and our mental health strand at the NWPBIS conference in a couple weeks. There is something for everyone within these events and resources so please jump right in! Wishing you a glorious spring time and wonderful final month(s) of the school year. Sign up for our School Mental Health Newsletter!  Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.

The current booklet: The Experience of Being a Non-Latinx Mental Health Professional Who Works with Latinx Clients: Providing Appropriate Transcultural Care is designed to provide means to increase health equity among Latinx populations. The main purpose is to: Describe approaches to recruit non-Latinx providers in our efforts to address Latinx health and behavioral health inequities. Provide strategies to increase the competency and proficiency of all providers who work with Latinx communities. Describe cultural themes to consider while providing mental health services for Hispanic and Latinx clients to increase practitioner’s cultural responsiveness. Identify strategies to approach mental health services for non-Latinx mental health providers.

>>> Click the blue "View Resource" button above to access the infographic <<<  Learn more about what the School Mental Health Supplement to the Northwest MHTTC accomplished throughout our first four years of operations with this 1-page infographic summary. Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.

This webinar provided school staff with a guide to help them improve mental health literacy among students, educators, and their peers. Our roadmap focuses on: Understanding how to foster and maintain mental health Understanding mental health challenges and their treatments Decreasing stigma   View a recording of the event and the "6 Steps to Guide Your Mental Health Literacy Action Plan."   This community of practice is an extension of our Healthcare workers and Educators Addressing and Reducing Trauma (HEART) Collective—an intentional effort to enhance collaborations between community health centers and schools to support positive mental health and well-being for youth in school-based settings.

This is a recording of Session 1 in Fostering our Health Equity Literacy. The first installment is “An Introduction: How the National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services Standards (CLAS) Can Elevate Our School Mental Health Equity Commitments.” This session took place on November 29, 2022. Presenters Yesmina Luchsinger, MS, Dr. Suganya Sockalingam, and Scott van Loo introduced the CLAS standards and explained why they should be adapted to school mental health contexts. This series overviews the CLAS standards and provides broad goals for ensuring cultural and linguistic appropriateness within the school mental health care system. In Session 1, presenters established how to integrate CLAS into our school mental health programs to maximize our commitment to health equity. The trainings are designed for state, district, county and local leadership, and any organization that provides mental health services.

This is a recording of Part 1 in the Getting Grief-Ready at Work: A Starter Kit Workshop Series, that took place on November 28, 2022.   In this workshop series, the Pacific Southwest MHTTC's Field Director, Leora Wolf-Prusan, Ed.D, Dr. David J Schonfeld of the National Center for School Crisis & Bereavement, and Mary Pauline Diaz-Frasene of the Dinner Party teamed up to lead a text-study exploration of Fostering Grief Ready Workplaces: A Starter Kit for Mental Health and School Mental Health Leadership.   This Starter Kit offers a review of essential guidelines and evidence-based practices to cultivate a grief-sensitive culture. The workshop series is an accompaniment for the Starter Kit and is intended to serve anyone interested in being grief sensitive, including school and mental health leaders, providers, and professionals.   Part 1 in the Starter Kit Workshop Series offers opportunities to hear questions, discussion, and discourse on the following: •    Grief Readiness: The Basics & How Grief Impacts our Workforce •    Self-reflection: How Grief Ready am I? Is my Team? Is my System? •    Approaching Grief Readiness with a Power Analysis: Cultural Sensitivity and Anti-Racism at Work

  This infographic is based on information from the live webinar Updates to the DSM-5-TR that was hosted by our partners at the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities (OACBHA) and presented by Jennifer Haywood, MSW, LISW, LICDC. 

In this discussion, a refugee community leader and pediatric health service researcher shared challenges and opportunities to support mental health needs of refugee and immigrant families. They highlighted promising opportunities for partnership and support for immigrant and refugee children and families through direct connection and communication with community partners and families. Watch the event recording from November 16, 2022.

In this session of the 2022 ABC Summit, local districts and their regional partners share their experience in developing Tier 2 supports for students, including procedures to identify and support students at risk of suicide.   Download Session Resources: Mansfield ISD Hope Squad Hope Squad Information Packet Hope Squad Fact Sheet Links to Alice ISD Mental Health Program Suicide Safer Schools Roadmap  

In this session of the 2022 ABC Summit, three regional entities share about the resources that they provide to school districts to support professional development, on-campus student support, and telehealth services.   Download the slides

This 1-hour module provides an overview of obsessive-compulsive disorder among children and adolescents, including diagnostic features, prevalence, and course. It addresses identification of pediatric OCD in primary care, including brief assessment strategies, and evidence-based treatment appropriate for use in integrated primary care.   Learn more about HealtheKnowledge here: HealtheKnowledge Courses More information on this series, "Integrated Pediatric Primary Care: A Primer Series" coming soon!    

At this session of the 2022 ABC Summit, Julie Wayman and Dr. Molly Lopez provide an overview of the Texas school mental health framework and highlight resources available to support Texas districts and campuses in developing a comprehensive school mental health system. Ashton Millet and Chelsea Sorensen highlight new resources that support districts in selecting evidence-based practices, programs, and training and identifying community-based resources.   Download the slides

At this session of the 2022 ABC Summit, representatives different divisions of TEA share ways they are partnering to support school mental health and highlight different resources available to local districts and campuses. Representatives include the Director for Restorative Discipline Practices, Program Manager for Counselor Support, Program Manager for Special Education, State Coordinator from the Highly Mobile and At-Risk Division, and the State Coordinator from the Project AWARE Expansion Consortium.   Download the handout TIER Mental Health Module Guide TIER Behavior Module Guide