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The capacity of schools to address behavioral health concerns presents an emerging challenge, exacerbated by major shortages in the workforce. Schools across the U.S. are struggling to hire licensed behavioral health professionals, with additional barriers encountered when seeking to hire practitioners with experience in educational settings. In 2023, a school district in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, partnered with The Ohio State University to launch a "grow your own" policy pilot. The priorities focused on addressing workforce shortages and leveraging the experiences of current teachers/staff to support growing needs related to student mental health and well-being. More specifically, the district utilized COVID-19 relief funds to recruit, train, and transition 25 teachers/staff into school mental health positions by underwriting the costs of each professional's Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. Here, we (a) describe the district–university partnership and the processes guiding the implementation of the "grow your own" model, (b) distill preliminary findings about district needs regarding behavioral health, and (c) explore facilitators, barriers, and outcomes associated with learning among participants in the program. The findings from a district-wide staff survey indicated a high level of need for individual counseling, crisis intervention, and small group interventions. Additionally, qualitative interviews revealed that learning among the program's participants was facilitated by effective classroom strategies and specific learning experiences integral to the program's design. These facilitators supported key learning outcomes, including general social work knowledge, self-awareness, and therapeutic skills that are foundational for engaging with students, parents/families, teachers/staff, and the broader school community. This innovative policy pilot and training model demonstrate how universities and local educational agencies can partner to address workforce development challenges at the intersection of behavioral health and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to describe the Community and Youth Collaborative Institute School Experience Surveys (CAYCI-SES). The CAYCI-SES measures are free and available to use with permission. The tools include valid and reliable surveys, assessments, and scales to help school stakeholders to identify and assess school climate and other conditions for learning. The CAYCI-SES gather data about the school environment across stakeholder groups and the broader school-family-community context known to influence student learning and youth development. For example, the measures include four survey versions: elementary school student, middle/high school student, parent/caregiver, and teacher/school staff. The CAYCI-SES also are valuable evaluation tools used to inform school planning and improvement efforts. This article describes each of the CAYCI-SES surveys and provides an overview of the process used for psychometric testing and instructions for implementation. Authors also discuss examples of schools and districts that have used the measures and implications for how school social workers may use the survey findings to address or identify needs, improve outcomes, and guide school improvement efforts.

Studies examining student-level outcomes associated with interprofessional team collaboration in schools remain anecdotal despite repeated calls for well-designed, rigorous, multimethod research. The purpose of the current study was to use a mixed-methods approach to explore how interprofessional team collaboration affects student-level outcomes and what student-level outcomes are associated with interprofessional team collaboration. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 27 school professionals serving on interdisciplinary consultation, assessment, referral, and education (CARE) teams in four Title I elementary schools. In addition, researchers examined quantitative data on student-level outcomes for 340 students served by the CARE teams in the four Title I schools. Rates of absenteeism, office discipline referrals, a curriculum-based measure, and a behavioral health measure were examined to explore relationships between interprofessional team collaboration and student-level outcomes. Qualitative findings indicated that interprofessional team collaboration improved coordination of and access to services, as well as consistent follow-through on plans and interventions. The CARE team processes also were associated with marked improvements in specific academic, behavioral, and mental health outcomes among students seen by the CARE teams. Results point to the important contributions interprofessional teams can make in schools when working together to address student needs.

Concerns exist about how the landscape of school sports is changing, leaving many school coaches feeling unprepared to meet the challenges of this role today. This article explores the status of school sports coaching by drawing on recent findings from the National Coach Survey, the first-of-its-kind survey in the United States released in 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective was to examine reference errors in research articles published in Research on Social Work Practice. High rates of reference errors in other top social work journals have been noted in previous studies. Methods: Via a sampling frame of 22,177 total references among 464 research articles published in the previous decade, a sample of 500 references were randomly selected and verified against the original work for accuracy in the following fields: author name(s), publication year, article title, journal title, volume, and page number(s). Results: Almost 27% of references contained at least 1 error (0.35 errors per reference); 173 errors in total. The plurality of errors occurred in article titles (13.2%). Two factors significantly related to the likelihood of error: reference age and number of authors. Conclusion: Comparison to reference error rates in other social work journals is discussed, as are suggestions to authors, editors, and educators regarding error reduction.

Objectives: Literature regarding Montessori-based activities with older adults with dementia is fairly common with early stages of dementia. Conversely, research on said activities with individuals experiencing late-stage dementia is limited because of logistical difficulties in sampling and data collection. Given the need to understand risks and benefits of treatments for individuals with late-stage dementia, specifically regarding their mental and behavioral health, this study sought to evaluate the effects of a Montessori-based activity program implemented in a long-term care facility. Method: Utilizing an interrupted time series design, trained staff completed observation-based measures for 43 residents with late-stage dementia at three intervals over six months. Empirical measures assessed mental health (anxiety, psychological well-being, quality of life) and behavioral health (problem behaviors, social engagement, capacity for activities of daily living). Results: Group differences were observed via repeated measures ANOVA and paired-samples t -tests. The aggregate, longitudinal results—from baseline to final data interval—for the psychological and behavioral health measures were as follows: problem behaviors diminished though not significantly; social engagement decreased significantly; capacities for activities of daily living decreased significantly; quality of life increased slightly but not significantly; anxiety decreased slightly but not significantly; and psychological well-being significantly decreased. Conclusion: Improvements observed for quality of life and problem behaviors may yield promise for Montessori-based activities and related health care practices. The rapid physiological and cognitive deterioration from late-stage dementia should be considered when interpreting these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective was to examine reference errors in research articles published in Research on Social Work Practice. High rates of reference errors in other top social work journals have been noted in previous studies. Methods: Via a sampling frame of 22,177 total references among 464 research articles published in the previous decade, a sample of 500 references were randomly selected and verified against the original work for accuracy in the following fields: author name(s), publication year, article title, journal title, volume, and page number(s). Results: Almost 27% of references contained at least 1 error (0.35 errors per reference); 173 errors in total. The plurality of errors occurred in article titles (13.2%). Two factors significantly related to the likelihood of error: reference age and number of authors. Conclusion: Comparison to reference error rates in other social work journals is discussed, as are suggestions to authors, editors, and educators regarding error reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-sectional study explores associations between elapsed time since the loss and outcomes of main feelings surrounding the loss and self-regard among 187 help-seeking survivors bereaved by suicide. Chi-square tests were conducted to examine the aforementioned relationships. In examining suicide survivors' main feelings over time, this study found mixed results in early bereavement. This study showed that at 25 to 59 months of elapsed time since the loss, both fear and happiness were significant for suicide survivors. No significance was found before 25 to 59 months, suggesting a change in suicide survivors' main emotions following 2 years of elapsed time since the loss. In later bereavement (i.e., 5 + years), suicide survivors' experiences of happiness was significant. The aforementioned results suggest that following 2 years of elapsed time since the loss, this sample of survivors bereaved by suicide experienced a change in their grief experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Literature regarding Montessori-based activities with older adults with dementia is fairly common with early stages of dementia. Conversely, research on said activities with individuals experiencing late-stage dementia is limited because of logistical difficulties in sampling and data collection. Given the need to understand risks and benefits of treatments for individuals with late-stage dementia, specifically regarding their mental and behavioral health, this study sought to evaluate the effects of a Montessori-based activity program implemented in a long-term care facility., Method: Utilizing an interrupted time series design, trained staff completed observation-based measures for 43 residents with late-stage dementia at three intervals over six months. Empirical measures assessed mental health (anxiety, psychological well-being, quality of life) and behavioral health (problem behaviors, social engagement, capacity for activities of daily living)., Results: Group differences were observed via repeated measures ANOVA and paired-samples t-tests. The aggregate, longitudinal results-from baseline to final data interval-for the psychological and behavioral health measures were as follows: problem behaviors diminished though not significantly; social engagement decreased significantly; capacities for activities of daily living decreased significantly; quality of life increased slightly but not significantly; anxiety decreased slightly but not significantly; and psychological well-being significantly decreased., Conclusion: Improvements observed for quality of life and problem behaviors may yield promise for Montessori-based activities and related health care practices. The rapid physiological and cognitive deterioration from late-stage dementia should be considered when interpreting these results.