Читать книгу Essentials of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) - Donna Lord Black - Страница 36

As a result of stakeholder input in the early phases of the project, the committee identified three critical issues that were preventing them from understanding the complex issues surrounding school mental health. After considerable discussion, it became clear that the group was “admiring the problem” and that these issues were creating barriers in their ability to move forward. Thus, the group recognized that if they were to achieve their goal of working cooperatively to develop a mental health model and guidance document for schools, they first had to understand the issues from one another’s perspectives. These three critical issues were:

1 The fragmented and complex mental health system that regulated eligibility for services was creating significant confusion for everyone. How those services were funded only added to the confusion.

2 Throughout the state, availability and access to mental health services were extremely limited, and many of the group’s members weren’t even aware that some of these services existed. This exacerbated the school mental health problem and may have contributed to why so much of the blame was being placed on schools.

3 The regulatory requirements that governed the professionals providing mental health services differed for professionals in the private or public sector compared to those in the educational sector.