Stephanie Falkenstein’s Post

To cultivate an inclusive and holistic educational environment for all students: Part V 5. Authentic Community Connections: From School to Health to Home For a school to truly serve its students, it must be deeply embedded in the community. The ideal school would foster authentic partnerships with local organizations, health providers, and cultural institutions, creating a web of support for students and their families. This collaboration would ensure that students’ needs are met not only in the classroom but also in their homes and neighborhoods. Public health scholars like Mindy Fullilove have emphasized the importance of "root shock," the disruption that occurs when communities are fractured by systemic inequalities. By keeping schools as stable, supportive community hubs, we can help mitigate the effects of these disruptions. Health services would be provided not just to students but to their families, ensuring that the entire community benefits from the school's resources. Moreover, the school would hold regular events, workshops, and town halls to maintain an ongoing dialogue with the community. Families would be involved in decision-making, ensuring that the school remains responsive to the evolving needs of its students. This school wouldn’t just be in the community, it would be of the community. #TraumaInformed #HealingOrganizedSchools #APedagogyOfLove

Pressing Issue/ Policy Moment: Preventative and Proactive Mental Health Services ⚕ We think of prevention in healthcare in a very normalized fashion. Doctors direct prevention with healthy habits, routine screenings and physicals. 🔺 Mental Health: School-Based Shift: Integrating Prevention into the School-Based Model- To extend the equity of services access, school-based mental health is a growing infrastructure supported by school district budgets, state departments, and federal funds.  🔺 Access for students/ families is being hubbed through their child’s campus- regardless of and to mitigate financial, transportation, consistency of pediatrician office visits, and otherwise waitlists access to care barriers. ⭕ The policy friction: disconnect currently: 🔻 In moving to school-based mental health systems, preventative screening is often blocked by standard district data privacy agreements, rather requiring parent opt-in consent at a later point/ creating process to gather hundreds or thousands of signatures from individual families once school has already started/ creating access to prevention screening inequity issue 🔻 Parent’s Bill of Rights Policy being enacted by state ex. (TX and NC in comments) - with ultimate goals to give parents the power to “ direct the education and care of their child…To access, review, give permissions to all education and medical records”- move school administrators to being additionally cautious in requesting initial consent for prevention screenings and mental health services instead of standardizing a beginning of year- stakeholder (parents, school administrators, students)  invested process for equitable services, and solutions such as- evidence-based screenings, parent review of questions, parent access to review screening records if prefer, mutually agreed upon pathways to support students with results,  etc. 💡 Will be interesting to see how this is bridged to make sure parents feel empowered in the solution- and prevention can be a more standardized piece of school-based mental health. Would love to know any great examples you are seeing in your home states, districts, local policy, etc. See Mental Health America Prevention Screening and National Alliance on Mental Illness Screening and policy recommendations in the thread #mentalhealthadvocate #mha #nami #schooldistricts #preventivehealthcare #policy #education #educationalleadership #educationpolicy #samhsa

Children are the leaders of tomorrows and every child deserves a bright and healthy future, regardless of their socio-economic background or circumstances. I understand the crucial link between health and education. A child who is healthy is better equipped to thrive in school, achieve academic success, and ultimately, break the cycle of poverty . However, I've seen firsthand how many children in underserved communities face significant health challenges that hinder their ability to learn and grow. From lack of access to proper nutrition and healthcare to environmental factors that impact their well-being, these obstacles can have long-lasting effects on their educational outcomes, disrupting the path to leadership. Having had the opportunity to witness some of the lived experience of children in underserved communities; I am dedicated to bridging the gap between children's health conditions and their educational outcomes. This is where HaleSpace comes in. Our core mission is to bridge this gap through innovative programs and initiatives, such as school-based healthcare, first aid training, health education, and advocacy. I like to think of myself merely a vessel for an idea. It needs people to drive it further, knowing that this mission is bigger than me, and recognizing the power of collaboration and the impact it can have on creating positive change. This is a call to like-minded individuals, organizations, and partners who share our passion for improving children's health and educational outcomes. Whether you're a healthcare professional, educator, policymaker, or simply someone who cares deeply about this cause, I invite you to join HaleSpace mission If you're interested in collaborating to make a difference in the lives of children in underserved communities, I would love to hear from you! Reach out to me to learn more about how you can get involved and make an impact. Photo: Our field trip to Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library #HaleandHearty #Children #Healthcare #qualityeducation #HaleSpace

The US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently advised communities and schools to elevate the voices of #parents and #caregivers to develop programming and other supports designed to improve family mental health and well-being. Building on this recommendation, Ascend’s new guide provides strategies and tools that organizations, policymakers, practitioners, and researchers can leverage to create effective partnerships with parents. We developed “Ascending with Parents: A Guide to Centering Parent Voice in Policy and Practice” with input from Ascend Parent Advisors whose insights have helped us better understand how we can foster family well-being and prosperity when we #CenterParentVoice. During #NationalStudentParentMonth and beyond, we encourage postsecondary leaders to recognize student parents as essential partners in this work. We, along with many others in the field, have learned key strategies to ensure equity, foster authenticity and autonomy, compensate parents appropriately, and more. In addition to providing concrete suggestions, the guide uplifts examples of organizations that are engaging parents including The Excel Center CO, Jeremiah Program, The Family Partnership, and The Primary School. https://lnkd.in/gqR_HsiK

Unveil the stories behind the stats. In recognition of #MentalHealthAwareness Month, dive into this crucial piece on the #mentalhealth in schools. It's time we support with resources, not just awareness. Thanks to  inseparable for leading the charge. 👉 https://lnkd.in/etUwfkrh

Check out this new blog post from our alumna Hianca Andrades! ⬇

Reflecting on the recent lesson about the "Imposter Phenomenon" as a Health Justice Fellow with Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. Navigating higher education as a first-generation college student and now graduate has been a journey filled with challenges and successes. I've grappled with imposter syndrome, especially as an individualist, but I have learned the importance of speaking up and leaning on peers when needed. It's empowering and daunting to be the sole representative of your identity in a space, but we can all achieve our goals by supporting each other. #HealthJustice #ImposterSyndrome #DiversityandInclusion

Have you read the latest report on Opportunities to Strengthen Youth Mental Health in schools by the Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc. and The Jed Foundation (JED) and thanks to funding by The Commonwealth Fund ? States and districts have a unique opportunity to increase school-based mental health programming and repair inequities in access and delivery. They can support such efforts in the following ways: * State education authorities can provide targeted funding and technical assistanceto small and rural districts. * Develop opportunities for state-level collaboration and peer-to-peer learning involving state education authorities, Medicaid authorities, and school districts. * State education authorities can create meaningful data available to the public. Understanding the impact of school-based behavioral health programs will help address gaps and barriers and can drive future programming * States and districts can draw on CMS’s Medicaid and School Based Services Technical Assistance Center to plan for, implement, and enhance their programs. For more state examples, historical context, and a detailed exploration of barriers and opportunities, please read our report. Thank you to my collaborators Dr. Zainab Okolo, LCMFT & Megan Lee, LPC https://lnkd.in/eKC9Av25 #medicaid #NAMD #youthmentalhealth

When a state gets serious about changing pressing public health issues - we see policy and budget unite. Virginia Legislators and Governor Glenn Youngkin are pushing for legislation and funding for youth mental health👏 ✍ Sample legislation: A bill from Del. Michael Feggans, D-Virginia Beach, would decrease the student-to-school counselor ratio from one counselor for every 325 students, to 1:250. 💲 Putting Budget to the priorities: Youngkin’s proposed budget includes $15 million for school-based mental health integration, $10 million to establish additional comprehensive psychiatric emergency services and programs, $10 million to establish additional mobile crisis teams in prioritized underserved areas, and more Something to track, watch the integration of funds into youth and school-based programs, and incredible to see the state paving how to impact equitable and impactful health for youth. Check the comments for the article and sample bill! #virginia #healthpolicy #schoolbasedhealth #leadership #education #governor

Our teens recently presented 5 ways that they would like to improve the social determinants of health in our community. How can we step up and support them to make their ideas a reality? Check out the post ⬇ to learn what the 5 action areas are! #YouthVoice #NextGen #AgentsofChange #GenZ