Fact Sheets on Supporting Students’ Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Well-Being and Success

In March of 2023, the U.S. Department of Education released Guiding Principles for Creating Safe, Inclusive, Supportive, and Fair School Climates for students and school staff, featuring specific recommendations for evidence-based practices that allow students to learn, grow, and be successful. To enhance state and local implementation of these guiding principles, a collaborative of technical assistance centers serving the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Safe and Supportive Schools developed a series of four fact sheets. The series describes best practices and approaches to help support and respond to students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and academic needs, including practices designed to reduce the use of exclusionary discipline in schools.

Each fact sheet is tailored to a specific audience at the school or district level:

• school and district leaders
• student support teams
• educators and school-based staff
• families

The fact sheets also feature resources to help support stakeholders in this important work.

Fact sheets are available in English and Spanish.

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  Links to 4 Fact Sheets for different audiences, in English and Spanish

Schools Respond: Substance Abuse in Teens panel webinar from NVFN

Presented live on February 22, 2023, this virtual panel session was hosted by Northern Virginia Family Network (nvfn.org) and facilitated by Formed Families Forward and NAMI Northern Virginia.

Panelists included:

Victor Martin, Ruthy Marcado, Alexandria City Public Schools

Jenny Sexton, Arlington Public Schools

Stefan Mascoll, Fairfax County Public Schools

Rebecca Sharp, Falls Church Public Schools

Blaise Carland, Megan Marshall, Loudoun County Public Schools

Mallory McKnight, Julie Crawford, Prince William County Schools

A recording of the session and a resource sheet with links mentioned during the session are available.

A recording with Spanish captions will be available soon.

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  Resources shared in Session and related links of interest

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  Recording of Panel session

3 Tips to Improve Communication with Your Youth & Young Adults tip sheet

This tip sheet provides parents and allies of youth and young adults with lived experience of a mental health condition tips be able to improve their connection with them. This tip sheet was developed as a collaboration between the family member and young adult advisory boards that work with the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research at University of Massachusetts. The tips are based on advisory board members’ real experiences.

Social Emotional Learning (SEL): What Families Should Know fact sheet

This fact sheet from the Northern Virginia Family Network, of which FFF is an active member, provides an overview of social emotional learning efforts in the schools. It offers families information about how they can be involved in SEL efforts in their children’s schools.

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  SEL Fact Sheet

Holiday Stress worksheets

From Understood.org, these worksheets are tools for kids and parents/caregivers to identify and prepare for holiday stressors.

The holidays can be hard for kids who learn and think differently. Things that are supposed to be fun — special holiday meals, chitchat with friends and relatives — can be stressful. There may be unspoken (or even spoken) comparisons to other kids. All these demands can lead to behavior problems .

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  Holiday Stress worksheet

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  Holiday Stress during COVID worksheet

Helping Children Impacted by Parental Substance Use Disorder

This publication from the Addiction Policy Forum and Warren County, Ohio is for adults who come into contact with children impacted by a parent’s addiction and provides information about how to help. It is meant for anyone—teachers, coaches, pastors, relatives, friends, neighbors.

The toolkit offers resources for understanding adverse childhood events, what to look for if you suspect a child might have a parent with a substance use disorder, what you can do to help, and more.

Onward: The Formed Families Forward podcast, Epi. 1 Positive Behavior

This episode addresses positive behavioral supports at home, and how they can be used during virtual learning.

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  Onward podcast: Positive Behavioral Supports at Home

Northern Post Adoption Regional Consortium

Funded by Va Department of Social Services, the Northern Post Adoption Regional Consortium offers case management, crisis supports, training, and other services for post-adoptive families. It is a partnership between The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.), enCircle, Children’s Home Society and NACAC to offer post adoption services and supports.

All families who have finalized adoptions of children ages birth through 18 years and reside in Virginia are eligible for services at no cost. This includes families that have adopted domestically, internationally and through foster care.

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  Consortium Flyer for families

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  Consortium Flyer for professionals

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  Website

Special Education Hacks that Help Students with Mental Health Conditions

A presentation by FFF Director Kelly Henderson for the NAMI of Virginia Family and Youth Virtual Summit on May 16, 2020. Includes some COVID-related specifics at conclusion of the session.

Engaging with Schools to Support Your Child with Psychosis

From the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors,  this 14 page guide reviews signs of psychosis in children and youth and provides guidance on coordinating with schools.

Spring Forward breakout “Parent Child Interaction Therapy”

2014 Spring Forward breakout “Parent Child Interaction Therapy” by Lori Day and Elizabeth Adams.

Supporting the Education of Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions Webinar

Supporting the Education of Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions:
State of the Science
presented by Marsha Ellison, PhD, Michelle Mullen, MS, CRC, CPRP, and Kathleen Biebel, PhD of the Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center  at U Mass (formerly The Transitions RTC)

Originally broadcast on January 7, 2016

Description:
The majority of college students with serious mental health conditions do not finish school, jeopardizing their long-term employment. Can supported education services help?

Marsha Ellison, Michelle Mullen and Kathleen Biebel, researchers and trainers of supported education services, will host a 2-part webinar series presenting the state of the science 2nd state of the practice of supported education and related strategies for achieving post-secondary education goals of young adults with SMHC.

Parent and Educator Resource Guide on Section 504 from the US Department of Education

Some students with mental health challenges and other conditions may be considered students with disabilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; some may also be considered students with disabilities who require special education and related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Learn more about Section 504 with this Parent and Educator Resource Guide on Section 504 from the US Department of Education.

What Does Research Tell Us About Services for Children in Therapeutic/Treatment Foster Care with Behavioral Health Issues?

Report of Expert Panel: What Does Research Tell Us About Services for Children in Therapeutic/Treatment Foster Care with Behavioral Health Issues? This 2012 report summarizes findings from an expert panel convened by federal agencies to address research on effective approaches to TFC.

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  Main Report

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  Appendices Revised

Mental Health Needs in Formed Families

For a PDF version of this fact sheet, click HERE.

MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS in FORMED FAMILIES

Virginia families formed by foster care, adoption and kinship care are much more likely than other families to need mental health care and supports.

The children and youth we care for are 3 to 4 times more likely to have behavioral and emotional disorders than children raised by birth families.

In addition, because of their mental health needs, our children and youth are at increased risk of facing inappropriate educational placements, inadequate specialized services and poor long-term outcomes.

• Students in foster care experience significant challenges with the lack of stability in their lives. Many have serious academic needs including learning gaps, poor attendance and serious emotional and behavioral problems. These problems faced by youth in foster care often go unnoticed, unassessed and unserved (Zetlin, Weinberg & Shea, 2010)
• Children who were involved with child protective services who were in out of home care are disproportionately more likely to be identified with an “emotional disorder” classification in school than students for whom there were no substantiated reports of maltreatment (Smithgall et al, 2004).
• The rate of school discipline incidents is higher for students in out-of-home care than for students with no substantiated maltreatment, and students with ED classifications had the highest rates of disciplinary incidents (Smithgall et al, 2005).
• US adolescents who had been adopted in infancy are more likely than nonadoptees to have teacher, parent, and child-reported mental health problems, particularly externalizing problems. Adoptees were more than twice as likely to have had contact with a mental health professional than nonadoptees (Keyes et al, 2008)
• 26% of adoptive parents report their adopted children age 6 and older were ever diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (vs. 10% in birth families). (National Survey Adopted Parents, HHS, 2007)
• 38% of parents who adopted from domestic foster care report their children age 6 and up were ever diagnosed with ADHD (National Survey Adopted Parents, HHS, 2007)

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  Mental Health Needs in Formed Families Fact Sheet