Supporting Student Wellness

2020-21 Year In Review - Student Wellness

Supporting Students’ Well-Being in a Pandemic

Solano County Office of Education (SCOE) has been an active partner in the Solano community advocating and working for more robust supports for the social and emotional needs of Solano students. As students return to school campuses in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, systems of support are in high demand, and SCOE is well positioned to support the educators supporting students.

Solano County School Wellness Center Initiative

SCOE acquired three grants totaling $1,763,530 to support the establishment of school-based wellness centers across Solano County. 45 school based centers have been opened in Solano County, helping to position schools to better serve the social and emotional needs of students amidst the pandemic.

SCOE’s wellness center program has provided the furnishings, wellness items and supports to open centers throughout Solano County. Wellness centers are intended to create a positive culture around mental health on school campuses, reducing negative stigmas.

School-Based Wellness Centers Offer Students:

Culturally inclusive spaces to decompress for 10-20 minutes, art, meditation, music, check-ins with trusted adults, stigma reduction, suicide prevention supports, trainings, student groups/workshops, and access points for students who need higher level services.

Grants awarded to SCOE include $509,378 from the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant issued by the California Department of Education, and a grant from Solano County Behavioral Health (SCBH) totaling $954,152. Additionally, SCOE received a $300,000 Health Systems Development Grant (HSG) from the County Medical Services Program (CMSP).

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Youth Mental Health First Aid

Youth Mental Health First Aid Training teaches adults how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders in youth. In 2020-21, SCOE’s certified instructors offered these important courses, to the Solano community.

Mental Health Screenings for Students

SCOE is in the second year of using a universal mental health screening tool for Golden Hills students. Each student is offered the opportunity to voluntarily complete the screening aimed at highlighting areas of concern, including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, trauma exposure and early psychosis symptoms. Trained mental health staff have been able to quickly identify the areas where support is needed for a student, and route them to appropriate support services which included on-site therapeutic support and linkage to a variety of community-based organizations.

Contact SCOE for more information on mental health resources and supports for schools at (707) 399-4855.

School-Based Mobile Crisis Services

New for the 2021-22 School Year: Through a contract from Solano County Behavioral Health (SCBH), SCOE will provide school-based mobile crisis services and the screening/assessment services for the current 2021-22 school year. The new services were implemented in collaboration with the county, school districts and school sites, local police departments and community partners. Additionally, SCOE has hired and trained clinicians as crisis specialists to respond to crisis situations on K-12 school campuses serving children and youth experiencing a mental health crisis. All students in need will be served, regardless of insurance or immigration status, with the mission of deescalating situations, linking families to necessary services, and supporting the coordination of care. School-based mobile crisis services provided through SCOE differ slightly from the communitybased mobile crisis services provided by SCBH. The SCOE team specializes in supporting schools and districts and are a key local education agency (LEA) partner familiar with school communities and protocols.

Telehealth Counseling Sessions

During the COVID-19 shelter-at-home orders, the mental health program staff were eager to address ways to continue to offer mental health support to students and staff. In partnership with the BHWorks platform by MDLogics, program staff were able to quickly provide telehealth counseling sessions to students and their families. Staff were also able to modify social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum so that it could be offered via Zoom to groups of students throughout the county. Benicia fourth graders were able to attend a weekly series of SEL instruction that focused on addressing the emotions that surfaced related to the pandemic. High school students from various schools participated in a weekly series that allowed them to ask a mental health clinician questions they had related to mental health and wellness. Mental health staff continued to support educators as well, offering virtual trainings on topics related to addressing mental wellness during difficult times.

Mental Health System Supports for Schools

Trainings for Educators, Parents and Students

Solano County Behavioral Health (SCBH) and the Solano County Office of Education (SCOE) received a Mental Health Student Services Act (MHSSA) grant award of $4 million funded over five years, which will expand mental health services and supports for students in K-12 school sites across Solano County. With this funding, SCOE provides trainings for school personnel and for parents/caretakers in suicide prevention, behavior management and more. SCOE also provides student social emotional learning (SEL) workshops for classrooms and small groups around social skills, anger management, anti-bullying, safe social media, etc.

Images from school-based wellness centers across Solano County The robust system of supports that SCOE provides to Solano public schools are offered at different tiers.

Tier 1 Supports Include:

Suicide prevention training, technical assistance and consultation for suicide prevention plans, crisis protocols, crisis response, building parent liaison teams to provide support to families needing assistance with mental health concerns, screenings for students kindergarten through third grade.

Tier 2 Supports Include:

Screenings and assessments for students identified as at risk for dropping out of school, deeper crisis evaluation and safety planning, schools based mobile crisis intervention, 5150 hold and transport arrangement.