-- Sharmeen Mahmud, Ed.D., LMFT, PPS --
Regional Mental Health Coordinator
Email: smahmud@ocde.us
-- Paulina Degortari, MSW --
Coordinator, WellEd
Email: pdegortari@ocde.us
Role and Responsibilities of Mental Health Student Services Act (MHSSA) Coordinators:
- Identify resources and serve as a “expert” by having the most up-to-date information on community-based mental health agencies and available services.
- Facilitate collaboration and coordination between community-based service providers and local school districts to establish new partnerships and strengthen existing relationships.
- Develop communication and referral protocols by becoming familiar with agency referral processes and parameters.
- Engage in train-the-trainer opportunities on evidence-based approaches by leveraging existing training resources.
- Provide professional development (PD) training and educational sessions for educators and school staff.
- Provide Care Coordination services to families referred by the district.
It is anticipated that the Mental Health Student Services Act Coordinators will also support school districts by:
- Establishing new partnerships with mental health service providers
- Improving or developing systems to create sustainable best practices and protocols
- Sharing best practices for school-based mental health, through a “Community of Practice"
- Improving timely access to, and reduce barriers to accessing needed services
- Increasing linkages to mental health services for districts
- Increasing training on mental health topics to educators, administrators, parents/families, and students, to improve awareness and understanding of mental health topics, and knowledge of how to navigate services
- Reduction in negative student outcomes (e.g., chronic sadness, thoughts of suicide, suicide rates, chronic absenteeism, school failure, etc.)
