Healthy Minds
Partnership Roadmap
A guide for schools looking to increase access to specialty behavioral health services for students and families.
We know that health does not just happen in a doctor’s office and one of today’s biggest concerns is youth behavioral health. In fact, many teachers, counselors, and school staff report that today’s students display symptoms of mental, behavioral, and development disorders. To provide better care for students and improve health outcomes the Healthy Minds Partnership Roadmap provides details to help schools/school districts build partnerships with specialty behavioral health providers to meet students where they are and not just in a doctor’s office.
KEY COMPONENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL – SPECIALTY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROVIDER PARTNERSHIP:
• Commit school leadership time to develop the partnership
• Pick the right specialty behavioral health provider/agency as a partner
• Talk through details early and often (space, resources, technology, referrals, communication flow, consent to treat, etc.)
• Set clear expectations for the specialty behavioral health provider about their role as a service provider in a school setting
• Schedule regular meetings between leadership and specialty behavioral health provider to coordinate care of students
The table below acts as a quick reference to help your school/school district develop key partnerships to improve the health outcomes of students.
Request the complete HEALTHY MINDS PARTNERSHIP ROADMAP for more information on each step.
HEALTHY MINDS PARTNERSHIP: WEST MIDDLE SCHOOL
With the support of the Foundation’s Youth Behavioral Health initiative, a local school district partnered with a specialty behavioral health agency in Idaho. As a result of this partnership, the increased access to behavioral health services resulted in improved student wellbeing and academic performance.
The Foundation is working to replicate these successes. By providing the needed resources and support to schools around the state, we can help provide students with the specialty behavioral health services they need.
| TIMELINE | ACTIVITY | KEY STAKEHOLDERS | ACTION ITEMS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 months before services are to be implemented | READINESS Determine where to begin: – Asking Key Questions – Establishing a Timeframe |
– School lead | Complete “Readiness Worksheet for School Teams” to review availability and support of key staff at the school and district level |
| 4 months before services are to be implemented | PLANNING Picking your specialty behavioral health provider partner |
– School lead – School counselors – School administration – Specialty behavioral health provider |
– Review the differences between various types of providers – Conduct interviews with specialty behavioral health providers – Plan to meet monthly with the specialty behavioral health provider team to co-design the program |
| 3 months before services are to be implemented | WORKING TOGETHER FOR STUDENTS – Developing agreements – Establishing workflows – Working through logistics such as summer coverage, staffing, and communication |
– School lead – School counselors – School administration – Specialty behavioral health provider |
– Develop Memorandum of Understanding – Create clear workflows for successful partnership – Determine youth behavioral health provider access to school space and resources – Set expectations for crisis situations – Create schedule for students to see provider – Develop a consent packet/paperwork – Discuss how students are identified for services – Plan a weekly “huddle” – Discuss how to access and leverage data – Develop and share a communication guide |
| 2 months before services are to be implemented | SPECIALITY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS – Reimbursement – Collaboration – Documentation – Staffing |
– School lead – School counselors – School administration – Specialty behavioral health provider |
– Determine billing flow at the beginning – Establish expectations regarding consent and referral routing – Refine details around space, technology, office equipment, and referrals – Consider saving 5-10% of youth behavioral health provider time to deliver pro-bono services |
| Meet 2-3 times per semester in the first year | EVALUATION – Tracking your data |
– School lead – Specialty behavioral health provider |
– Review metrics for program evaluation regularly – Communicate about what is going well and what can be improved at regular intervals |