Social Work Practitioners and Researchers Realize the Promise

A recent publication from the National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention provides a preview of the future of specialized instructional support personnel. Realizing the promise of the Whole-School Approach to Children's Mental Health: A Practical Guide for Schools provides a framework to guide best practices for school and community professionals to collaborate to advance the cause of children's mental health in schools. This document makes clear that children's mental health is not solely the domain of mental health experts, and its authors recognize the critical role of school personnel promotion of well-being. The authors cite the lack of ability of community-based mental health providers and schools to work effectively to infuse providers of mental health services into the daily functions of schools as a historical barrier to integrating these services in schools, and the framework is designed to help overcome this challenge.