Mental Health and Schools: Best Practices to Support Our Students - Implications for Policy, Systems, and Practices

It is well documented that one in five children will experience a diagnosable behavioral health concern, and half of all lifetime mental illnesses begin by age 14. Strikingly, as few as 50% of these children will receive any kind of treatment and even fewer receive evidence-based treatments. Schooling is a legal requirement until age 16. As a result, schools encounter most children ages 5 to 17 and are therefore a highly impactful setting to ensure children’s behavioral health needs are identified and met as quickly as possible – either through school-based supports and services or through links to services in the broader community.