Health organization

Reducing Suicide Risk With Safety Plans

September is Suicide Awareness Month. When children in distress express suicidal thoughts or feelings, therapists often work with them —and their parents— to create what is called a safety plan. A safety plan is a document that spells out a series of things the child agrees to do, if they feel overwhelmed, to keep from harming themselves. Parents agree to things they will do to make their child’s environment safer.

This collection of articles from the Child Mind Institute explains how safety planning can help deter teen suicides, which are often impulsive, by steering kids away from harming themselves until the urge passes. With teenage depression and anxiety on the rise, it’s important for all of us to be proactive when children are in distress.

To see the individual articles in the collection and connect with them in English or Spanish, come here.

State Laws on School Nursing Responsibilities

Child Trends, in partnership with EMT Associates, analyzed the landscape of state statutes and regulations as of October 2021 to better understand how state laws and policies define the role of school nurses. This 2022 brief presents their findings.

Knowing your state’s school nurse policies is important to practitioners, Parent Centers, families, and education administrators and staff alike. The brief details state policies on such matters as whether districts must employ school nurses, what qualifications are required, and nurses’ role in individual aspects of the work.

Additionally, the brief provides current data on state policies for a school nurse’s role in: managing chronic conditions; administering medication; developing and managing student health plans; student immunizations; and infectious disease control. Read CPIR’s abstract and access the brief here.

Facts and Stats about Bipolar Disorder

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How to Talk to Kids About Sex and Consent

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Adverse Childhood Experiences in Indian Country

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Videos to Teach Students 5 Foundational Mental Health Skills

The California Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids project has produced an evidence-based video series with accompanying study guides. There are introductory videos for caregivers and educators, and videos to teach young people five clinically proven mental health skills. Our youth has never needed these foundational mental health skills more than they do right now.

Five topics are treated, each with multiple videos and supporting materials. Those topics are: Understanding Feelings, Understanding Thoughts, Relaxation Skills, Managing Intense Emotions, and Mindfulness. All videos and supporting materials are available in English and Spanish.

Want to know more, and how to access each of the video sets in either language? Come here and read all about it!

Schizophrenia: What It Is and Is Not

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Building Responsive Relationships Remotely

In the Spring and Fall of 2020, the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University hosted a series of conversations with members of its Frontiers of Innovation community. Through these conversations, members shared their stories of innovation and resilience as they sought to maintain services for families during the pandemic.

Building Responsive Relationships Remotely is a compilation of the ideas and wisdom that experts from the field shared during those conversations to help others navigate remote interactions. Read more about (and access) the resource here.

How Right Now Partner Toolkit

How Right Now is an initiative to address people’s feelings of grief, loss, and worry during the COVID-19 pandemic. It aims to increase people’s ability to adapt and be resilient during this time.

The initiative’s Partner Toolkit provides materials tailored for use with specific audiences and communities (people ages 65 and over; caregivers; people with pre-existing mental health or physical conditions; those experiencing violence; and those experiencing economic distress). Among the materials you’ll find in the toolkit are sharable graphics to promote the How Right Now initiative and website; graphics that illustrate simple ways to support emotional well-being; and a launch video featuring how people are coping during the pandemic. A Spanish version of the toolkit is available, too! Find out more here.

Self-Care A-Z: Think Self-Care Always Feels Good?

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