New Center For Behavioral Health Aims To Transform Mental Health Landscape In Schools

In March 2016, Houston Endowment awarded Mental Health America for Greater Houston more than $2 million to establish The Center for School Behavioral Health. This new center aims to support and transform the mental health landscapes in schools.

Mental health is vital to overall health. Sadly, one out of five children living in the United States experience a mental disorder and have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes.

"We've spoken to people who've worked in school districts for many, many years and they say it's like a crisis," Mental Health America of Greater Houston's Janet Pozmantier said. "They've never seen so many students with overwhelming mental health needs and they simply just don't know what to do."

Without early diagnosis and treatment, children with mental health issues can have problems in school and their healthy development can be affected. The National Institute of Mental Health also revealed that 50 percent of all mental illnesses begin their onset by age 14.

Moreover, Texans Care for Children added nine out of ten students who have an emotional disturbance were suspended or expelled from campus. While rates of teen suicide have decreased in recent years, it remains the third leading cause of death in young people aged 15 to 24 in Texas, The Katy Rancher reports.

Fortunately, The Center for School Behavioral Health at Mental Health America of Greater Houston aims to change the landscape of school behavioral health in the Greater Houston region. According to Houston Public Media, the new center will be directed by Pozmantier and is set to work with 15 school districts, three charter networks and one parochial school.

In addition, The Center for School Behavioral Health will also assist districts to increase prevention efforts, early identification and treatment of behavioral health concerns among students. Through the use of "collective impact model," the center will serve as a "living laboratory" for developing ground-breaking, cost-effective and notable practices to improve the behavioral health of students.

The Center for School Behavioral Health also aims to provide highly-specialized professional development opportunities, technical assistance and community education as well as research. Most of all, it aims to reduce the stigma around mental health illnesses while raising awareness and advocating policy analysis.