Key points:
A new no-cost tool aims to support school districts and educational decision-makers nationwide in their selection and implementation of digital resources to support student mental health.
The K-12 Mental Health Tech Navigator from Headstream, an innovation program by SecondMuse that works to improve the mental well-being of adolescents, was launched in collaboration with The Jed Foundation (JED), a national nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults, and The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, Texas’s most trusted source for data-driven mental health policy.
Headstream convened a diverse working group of 12 educational leaders whose collaboration resulted in a Roadmap with 10 key recommendations that can be put into action via the Navigator, a free, web-based resource for K-12 administrators and educators to inform and guide the process of choosing and using digital tools to support the mental health and well-being of students.
The Navigator helps guide schools and districts serving adolescents from historically marginalized communities through the digital health product procurement journey with key features, including:
- Identifying core challenges: Outlining evidence-based recommended practices for addressing common student mental health challenges.
- Discovering school success stories: Understanding examples of successful implementations of digital well-being products in diverse school districts and learning from case studies.
- Funding guidance: Exploring expert recommendations of processes for stakeholder engagement around assessing and selecting digital mental health products and strategies for resourcing initiatives.
- Product selection: Identifying key considerations to ensure the right product fit, including examples of 20 products that could be used to support youth mental health in schools.
These solutions come as nearly 70 percent of public schools have reported that the number of students seeking mental health services has increased since 2020.
“In-person human care and interaction is critical to support student well-being,” said David Ball, Senior Director at Headstream. “However, the resources and capacity don’t currently exist to meet the needs schools face. Technology-based interventions can support counselors, teachers, and schools to address student mental health at scale. The Navigator will walk education decision-makers through product procurement strategies that solve pressing issues like counselor shortages, and early intervention.”
“As a former district leader myself, I have seen the need for innovative and flexible solutions when dealing with the complexity of student mental health. With the Navigator, administrators and district leaders will have a resource to help them make informed decisions on integrating digital interventions into their existing supports and systems for protecting the emotional well-being and mental health of students and school communities nationwide,” said Tony Walker, PhD, Senior Vice President of Academic Programs at JED.
“We all know that schools are searching for solutions to meet the growing mental health needs of students and staff in this country. The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute is excited to partner with Headstream and The Jed Foundation to develop this critically important resource for school districts who are struggling to connect students and staff to mental health services,” stated Michelle Harper, Executive Vice President of State Partnerships and Executive Director of the Center for Child & Family Wellness at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.
This press release originally appeared online.
