School Mental Health Assessment & Planning
CHDI helps schools and districts take stock of their current mental health strengths, capacity, needs, and gaps and develop custom plans to reach their goals.
Assessing need and capacity
Many schools and districts are taking steps to support student mental health, but aren’t sure how to make the best use of limited resources. A strategic needs assessment enables schools to take stock of their current mental health supports, needs, and capacity so that they can prioritize and set goals.
CHDI helps schools and districts conduct needs assessments and build realistic, custom plans to reach their goals efficiently and effectively using the SHAPE System.
The School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation (SHAPE) System
CHDI provides technical assistance and support for schools and districts to use the School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation (SHAPE) System, an online platform hosted by the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland.
SHAPE offers many research-based assessment, planning, and evaluation tools and resources, including the National School Mental Health Census and the School Mental Health Quality Assessment (SMH-QA). To keep everyone on the same page, SHAPE also provides a shared online workspace for teams to collaborate on these tools together and even connect with other schools and districts in the region.
SHAPE helps schools and districts to collaborate more effectively and efficiently using research-based tools and resources, saving time and effort. After completing SHAPE assessments, schools or districts receive custom reports to help identify priorities and inform future plans.
Technical assistance and support for using SHAPE is available to all Connecticut schools and districts at no cost through a collaborative statewide partnership between CHDI, the CT Department of Children and Families (DCF), the State Department of Education, and the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland.
Email or call Rebekah Behan, Senior Project Coordinator to see if SHAPE is a good fit for your school or district!
CHDI provides technical assistance and support for schools and districts to use the School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation (SHAPE) System, an online platform hosted by the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland.
SHAPE offers many research-based assessment, planning, and evaluation tools and resources, including the National School Mental Health Census and the School Mental Health Quality Assessment (SMH-QA). To keep everyone on the same page, SHAPE also provides a shared online workspace for teams to collaborate on these tools together and even connect with other schools and districts in the region.
SHAPE helps schools and districts to collaborate more effectively and efficiently using research-based tools and resources, saving time and effort. After completing SHAPE assessments, schools or districts receive custom reports to help identify priorities and inform future plans.
Technical assistance and support for using SHAPE is available to all Connecticut schools and districts at no cost through a collaborative statewide partnership between CHDI, the CT Department of Children and Families (DCF), the State Department of Education, and the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland.
Email or call Rebekah Behan, Senior Project Coordinator to see if SHAPE is a good fit for your school or district!
"The deep, self-reflective discussions that resulted [from the SHAPE assessment] were invaluable... We are excited to continue working on the goals set by each building and see the impact on student mental health and achievement!"
Developing a comprehensive school mental health plan
After completing the SHAPE assessment process, schools and district teams have the option to receive ongoing technical assistance from CHDI. We can help you review and interpret SHAPE results, set realistic goals, and develop custom implementation plans.
School mental health implementation plans are not one-size-fits-all; they're based on your school or district’s unique needs, capacity, funding, and other factors identified in the assessment. Plans include specific, measurable, and realistic goals and outline data collection and quality improvement processes.
