Schools Can't Do It Alone: Envisioning a Statewide System of Support to Advance School-Based Behavioral Health in California

Throughout the research conducted for WestEd's recent brief, "Schools Can't Do It Alone: Developing Sustainable Systems of Care for School-Based Behavioral Health in California," local educational agencies (LEAs) expressed a need for technical assistance (TA) in a variety of areas to improve student behavioral health outcomes. Needed assistance includes TA to build school staff's capacity to support student behavioral health (e.g., by using trauma-informed and restorative practices) and TA on how to develop infrastructure to collaborate with external partners such as health care providers and community-based organizations to provide school-based care. This companion brief envisions how a statewide system might be structured to improve LEAs' and their local partners' access to TA focused on supporting students' behavioral health. The brief explores two potential models for such a statewide system of TA. Model 1 would involve integrating TA on school-based behavioral health into California's existing Statewide System of Support (SSOS). Model 2 would entail creating a separate structure, analogous and connected to the SSOS and focused on school-based behavioral health.