ABSTRACT
According to the National Center for Children in Poverty’s (NCCP) 2006 report, approximately 20% of all students have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder; of those children, up to 80% will not receive the hospital, clinic, or community-based mental-health services that they need. The figures are greater for low income as well as minority children. Furthermore, in 1999 the US Surgeon General’s report on child mental health highlighted how traditional methods of psychological service delivery have failed children in our society. One of the recommendations of this report was for communities to examine how schools can be used to help meet children’s mental-health needs. Indeed, the report highlights that a significant portion of children who need mental-health services will receive them through school-based mental-health support staff. However, school staff is often at a loss as to how to deliver quality services to children in cost-effective ways that will meet the mental health and behavioral needs of all students. At best, school-based mental-health programs simply mimic the model that is used in clinics, hospitals, and community centers. Yet traditional “30-minute pullout” sessions cannot realistically provide services to all children in need. These programs had failed children in the community and are unfortunately doomed to fail children in schools as well.
