Numerous evidence-based programs (EBPs) exist for delivery in schools to promote youth mental health outcomes. However, school systems often lack the internal infrastructure to support the effective implementation and sustainment of EBPs when external supports are withdrawn, resulting in notable attenuation in the benefits in youth clinical…

Despite evidence that school mental health can enhance access to care for students from marginalized racial/ethnic groups, disparities remain in the appropriateness, quality, effectiveness, and outcomes of school mental health services. Implementation strategies hold some promise for addressing the disparities that emerge as result of inequitable…

Numerous evidence-based programs (EBPs) exist for delivery in schools to promote youth mental health outcomes. However, school systems often lack the internal infrastructure to support the effective implementation and sustainment of EBPs when external supports are withdrawn, resulting in notable attenuation in the benefits in youth clinical…

There has been an increase in school mental health research aimed at producing generalizable knowledge to address longstanding science-to-practice gaps to increase children's access to evidence-based mental health services. Successful dissemination and implementation are both important pieces to address science-to-practice gaps, but there is…

Background: Collaborative care (CC) is a well-established approach for the delivery of accessible behavioral health services in integrated health care settings. Substantial evidence supports its effectiveness in improving the quality and outcomes of adult services, and growing research indicates utility with child and adolescent populations.…

Schools, like other service sectors, are confronted with an implementation gap, with the slow adoption and uneven implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP) as part of routine service delivery, undermining efforts to promote better youth behavioral health outcomes. Implementation researchers have undertaken systematic efforts to publish…

There is substantial research evidence for the effectiveness of school mental health strategies across problem areas, developmental levels, and the prevention-intervention spectrum. At the same time, it is clear that the education and mental health fields continue to struggle to apply this evidence at any level of scale. This commentary reflects…

Collaborative care (CC) is an innovative approach to integrated mental health service delivery that focuses on reducing access barriers, improving service quality and lowering health care expenditures. A large body of evidence supports the effectiveness of CC models with adults and, increasingly, for youth. Although existing studies examining…

Although the education sector has been referred to as the "de facto" mental health system for children and adolescents, such statements obscure the tremendous heterogeneity of school-based mental health (SMH) initiatives. This study asked how different school contexts and SMH provider types may influence different aspects of SMH service…

School mental health (SMH) services are widespread but are often not well integrated into school settings, based on evidence for effectiveness, or efficiently delivered. This paper presents results of a pilot study of a brief (4 session) assessment, engagement, triage, and initial intervention strategy for SMH clinicians working in high schools.…

Background: Integrated healthcare delivered by work groups in nontraditional service settings is increasingly common, yet contemporary implementation frameworks typically assume a single organization--or organizational unit--within which system-level processes influence service quality and implementation success. Recent implementation frameworks…

Background: A substantial literature has established the role of the inner organizational setting on the implementation of evidence-based practices in community contexts, but very little of this research has been extended to the education sector, one of the most common settings for the delivery of mental and behavioral health services to children…

Research and practice in school-based mental health (SBMH) typically include educational variables only as distal outcomes, resulting from improvements in mental health symptoms rather than directly from mental health intervention. Although sometimes appropriate, this approach also has the potential to inhibit the integration of mental health and…

Mental health among children and adolescents is a growing national concern and schools have taken center stage in efforts to prevent problems and promote wellness. Although research and policymakers support the integration of mental health services into the schools, there is limited agreement on the ways to package or combine existing supports to…

Despite promising evidence that school-based health centers (SBHCs) and school mental health (SMH) services can reduce disparities in access to mental health care for underserved populations, little is known about what predicts retention of youth in SMH services. This study aimed to identify individual- and school-level factors associated with…