No Time for Silos

Creating the Michigan Return to School Mental Health Toolkit

School counselors are aware of the increasing mental health needs of students. Often, these needs reach a level of crisis before being recognized. The fourth edition of the American School Counselor Association’s ASCA National Model redefined crisis response as an indirect service due to the large amount of consultation, collaboration and referral often required to respond to individual, school, community or national crisis. Little did anyone know that this new definition would be tested by the dual pandemics of 2020.

In 2019, MSCA Governing Board members joined with colleagues from the Michigan School Social Workers Association (MASSW) and the Michigan Association of School Psychologists (MASP) to form the School-Based Mental Health Professionals (S-BMHP) Coalition. The groups mission was to provide a unified voice and expertise on student mental health issues, recognizing the unique skills of each profession. The focus was on students, not protecting one profession over the other during budget cuts or lowering one group’s student-to-professional ratio. The coalition members realized that addressing mental health needs was going to take a village of fully credentialed providers.

Fast forward to 2020. Enough said, right? During the first months of the COVID-19 school closures, each professional association worked tirelessly to serve their members. By late May, a shared vision had emerged. The group realized, with support from the Michigan Department of Education and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, that beneath the layers of hand sanitizer and face masks, students would be returning to school in the fall with expanded mental health needs. “For the first time in many years we met with Michigan Department of Education staff to talk with them about what we do," said Donna-Secor Pennington, former MASSW president and coalition member.

This was not a drill. The coalition got to work immediately to create a toolkit of mental health support resources for all educators and stakeholders, including parents and students. According to Amy Chapman, MASSW president, “The strengths of each profession came together with a common vision to expand the availability of mental health services and supports to K–12 students.” A July 1 deadline was set – and achieved!

The nation was forced to face a second pandemic of systemic racism, spotlighted by the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Arbery and others. It was clear that another mental health emergency needed to be addressed. Coalition members continued to work during the summer to create additional resources on racial inequity and social justice as a part of the larger toolkit. Access the Return to School Mental Health Toolkit here.

What lessons can we learn from this experience? First, communication on the topic of student mental health needs must begin before a crisis. Although the S-BMHP coalition met only once, the framework for a shared vision and mission had been established. Second, no amount of practice can ever replicate a real crisis. This team, by leaving professional silos, was able to learn to build the plane together while flying it. According to Scott Hutchins, MDE school mental health and Medicaid consultant, “The School-Based Mental Health Professionals Coalition has placed an emphasis on putting personal agendas to the side and climbing out of individual silos to come together for the purposes of improving the social and emotional well-being of students across Michigan.”

Finally, collaboration brings advocacy for one another. Nick Jaskiw, president of the Michigan Association of School Psychologists, framed it this way, “Through the unified efforts of MASP, MSCA and MASSW, the significant role the school counselor plays in Tier 1 (of the MTSS process) is being communicated to educational leaders, decision makers and stakeholders.”

In other words, we are stronger...silo-free. 

Judy Williams is past president of the Michigan School Counselor Association.