Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education) is an initiative that strengthens community and school-based supports for students’ mental health and resiliency.
With a federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Texas Education Agency (TEA) partnered with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to implement this program.
Project AWARE focuses on collaboration between state and local systems to promote the healthy development of school-aged youth. In this post, we’ll share more about the program’s work, our team’s involvement, and an inspiring example of community partnerships in San Marcos.
What are Project AWARE’s goals?
The main objectives of Project AWARE are to:
- Increase and improve access to culturally competent and developmentally appropriate school and community-based mental health services.
- Increase awareness and identification of mental health issues among adults working with young people.
- Help students develop skills that promote resilience, self-regulation and pro-social behaviors, avert the development of mental health disorders, and prevent youth violence.
- Develop an infrastructure that will sustain services at LEA/ESCs (education service centers) and build statewide capacity to promote mental health awareness and evidence-based practices.
Project AWARE is a huge team effort that brings together professionals from various backgrounds, including education, behavioral and mental health, healthcare, juvenile justice, communications, and more. Let’s dive into the important mix of tasks our team takes on.
TIEMH’s role in Project AWARE
The Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health (TIEMH) is part of the team responsible for providing consultation and technical assistance to support the overall school mental health infrastructure of AWARE districts and the state of Texas.
Here are a few of our team’s responsibilities:
- Program evaluation and data monitoring
- Reporting grant evaluation metrics to SAMHSA
- Providing technical assistance to LEAs for school mental health implementation and infrastructure building
Our communications team also supports creative projects for AWARE such as video productions and interview series to raise awareness of the great work being done across the state.
A glimpse of Project AWARE in action
Project AWARE uses a comprehensive multi-tiered system of mental health and wellness supports (MTSS) as a framework for cross-system collaboration to ensure Texas youth have access to a wide range of interventions.
For more context, here’s what the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has to say about MTSS:
“Multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) follow a public health model. These approaches focus on what we should do for all. Then, using data, it applies evidence-based approaches to the continuing needs of some individuals and intensive strategies for a few individuals with the most significant needs.
An MTSS approach enables schools to identify issues and the alternatives to address them. Through MTSS, we “tier” programs and activities to address schoolwide practices and the strategies to improve outcomes for specific groups.”
Below are a few examples of what these supports look like for AWARE:
School district spotlight: The Core Four Partnership in San Marcos commits to youth well-being
Our team is working on a series highlighting mental and behavioral health best practices across Texas to inspire schools that are interested in developing similar opportunities for youth.
In one of our recent spotlights, we talked to Jennifer Parker, the Project AWARE community project manager at San Marcos CISD, and Cristal Lopez, Core 4 facilitator and youth services director at Community Action Inc. of Central Texas.
The Core Four (i.e., Core 4) is a partnership between the City of San Marcos, Hays County, San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District, and Texas State University. This partnership provides positive youth development (PYD) opportunities for youth and facilitates community collaboration.
For example, they’ve provided trainings for Mental Health First Aid, Youth Mental Health First Aid, and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills (ASIST). Learn more about how they implemented the partnership, how they measure success, and what they’ve learned along the way.
Stay tuned for more school mental health news
We’re excited to work on this project with such talented, passionate individuals. If you’re interested in mental and behavioral health updates from our friends at TEA, subscribe to their newsletter.
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