Implementation of a School Mental Health Learning Collaborative Model to Support Cross-Sector Collaboration

Facilitating success for students with behavioral health challenges requires effective collaboration among professionals from traditionally disparate systems (e.g., education, health, and mental health). The current investigation describes a case-study implementation of a school-based learning collaborative model and explores its effectiveness in promoting knowledge, skill, efficacy, and systems-related improvements in cross-sector collaboration. The learning collaborative (LC) was offered to school teams over the course of a year and consisted of a combination of didactic and experiential learning opportunities, guest speakers, district-specific improvement goals, peer learning and support, and individualized consultation support. Evaluation efforts included evidence demonstrating the efficacy of the LC, improvement in person-centered knowledge skills and competencies, and generation of concrete changes in school systems. Respondents consistently shared that the quality of the LC was high that the topics were highly useful for their day-to-day practice, and that they would recommend the LC to their colleagues and peers. In turn, this process fostered improvement in educators’ knowledge, skills, and confidence, and generated systemic improvement in districts to support children with behavioral health needs and their families. Specific components of this model that best account for changes are discussed, along with implications for application and next steps.