12 Back-to-School Resources to Support Student Mental Health

Updated August 2024

It's back-to-school time again, and many of our colleagues across Connecticut are helping their own children as well as those they work with transition to new routines, classrooms, and expectations. It can be an exciting but stressful time of year!

To help schools, providers, and families start the new school year on the right foot, we compiled this list of 12 relevant resources for supporting student mental health, developed by CHDI and our colleagues from around the country:

1. CONNECTing to Care IV Students (CONNECT IV): Through a new federal grant, CHDI and our partners at Connecting to Care are providing free, customized technical assistance, training, and support to Connecticut K-12 schools and districts to help them strengthen their student mental health systems and supports. Currently recruiting schools and districts statewide to participate on a rolling basis!
2. Trauma ScreenTIME Course for Schools | CHDI: Free, self-paced online course for school staff to learn best practices for trauma screening and develop screening programs that fit their school or district's needs and capacity. Appropriate for ANY child-serving staff - not just clinicians - including teachers, paraprofessionals, school nurses, and administrators.
3. Mobile Crisis: Specialized mobile crisis intervention services are available statewide to assist children and youth experiencing behavioral health crises at school, at home, or in the community. Call 211 or 988 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to immediately reach a trained crisis counselor and get in-person crisis assistance to your location, typically in under an hour.
4. Supporting Young Minds Guides 2024 | Mental Health America: Free, downloadable guides to help teachers, parents, and youth foster safe, supportive school environments.
5. School Mental Health Overview | KidsMentalHealthInfo.com: Helpful information for parents, caregivers, and educators on the effects of mental health on learning and behavior, plus an overview of services available through Connecticut schools and the community. 
6. Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Library | Connecting to Care: Tools to help schools and behavioral health organizations develop, enhance and evaluate Health Equity Plans.
7. Back-to-School Parent/Educator Toolkit | Crisis Text Line: A back-to-school checklist for parents and educators, a self-care planner for students, tips for managing stress and anxiety, and more.
8. Resources for Building Student Resilience | NAMI: Comprehensive collection of resources, tools, and activities to support educators, guide parents, and empower students on their mental health journeys.
9. Connect4Families Toolkit | Connecting to Care: Comprehensive toolkit from the Connecting to Care initiative designed to simplify access to behavioral health services and strengthen collaboration among families, pediatric and behavioral health providers, and schools. Includes an updated resource directory, sample referral and communication forms, tips from providers, families, and youth, privacy considerations, and more.
10. 2024 Virtual School Mental Health Learning Series | National Center for School Mental Health: Series of webinars on various school mental health topics led by nationally recognized experts - many have passed, but recordings and slides are available to watch at your convenience.
11. Resources to Create Trauma-Informed Schools | National Child Traumatic Stress Network: A collection of toolkits, webinars, fact sheets, activities, and other resources to help schools become more trauma-informed.
    
12. LGBTQ+ Allyship in Action | The Trevor Project: A guide for teachers and other youth-serving professionals on being an ally for LGBTQ+ youth.