Health

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.

OSEP Policy Letter on Adapted Physical Education

May 12, 2021 | Useful to state and local education administrators and staff, parents of children with disabilities, and Parent Centers.   This Policy Letter from OSEP (OSEP Policy 21-01) is in response to correspondence asking for clarification about requirements related to the provision of physical education, including adapted physical education (APE), to children with […]

How to Talk to Kids About Sex and Consent

(Available in English and Spanish) | Useful to Parent Centers, other community groups, and families of adolescent children with and without disabilities   When it comes to sex and our children (and ourselves), it’s important to have boundaries and hold to them. This article from the Child Mind Institute will help parents and other involved […]

Adverse Childhood Experiences in Indian Country

Useful to: Alaska Native and American Indian communities, organizations working with and on behalf of Native communities, Native families and tribes themselves Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are common. Many Tribal individuals, families, and communities have been impacted by childhood experiences causing physical and mental health adversities throughout the lifespan. However, with understanding and effort, individuals […]

Your Child’s Brain | Podcast

(Monthly podcasts) | Useful to parents, Parent Centers, family members, educators, and medical practititioners working with children with different types of brain issues and challenges.   Your Child’s Brain is a monthly podcast of the Kennedy Krieger Institute with assistance from WYPR (National Public Radio, WYPR 88.1 FM). The podcast is released the first Monday […]

Safe Schools Checklist

(2022, February) | Useful to parents, students, school leaders, and school personnel with respect to protecting the return to in-person learning against COVID-19 and its variants | (Available in English and Spanish)   As we return to in-person learning in schools, parents and schools alike are concerned that COVID-19 and variants of the virus could […]

Webinar | Return to School: Development and Implementation of IEPs

This webinar focuses on important guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, issued on September 30th and entitled Return to School Roadmap: Development and Implementation of IEPs in the LRE. The guidance stresses the importance of revisiting the needs of students with disabilities as they return to classrooms. Have the needs and learning difficulties of individual students changed, given the impact of COVID-19, remote learning, and isolation? Do goals in the IEP need to be changed, do the services and supports to be provided need to be adjusted? Presenters from OSEP explore these and other questions, including compensatory services and addressing the school-related health needs of returning students.

How to Prioritize the Health and Safety of Students, School Personnel, and Families

“How to Prioritize the Health and Safety of Students, School Personnel, and Families“ is one of the first pages to be launched in the “Return to School Roadmap” series being produced by the U.S. Department of Education. The series itself is a work in progress, beginning with three landmark principles focused on tools and strategies that schools, districts, and communities can use to ensure that all students are set up for success in the 2021-2022 school year. The Department anticipates steadily releasing additional resources as part of the series in the coming weeks and months.

Immediately available are: (1) a fact sheet that lays out the three principles and provides examples of schools and communities that are addressing each in effective ways; (2) a guide for schools and districts outlining what schools can do to protect the health and safety of students; (3) a checklist that parents can use to prepare themselves and their children for a safe return to in-person learning this fall. Learn more about the Return to School Roadmap and connect with all currently available resources right here.

Vaccinations, Return to In-Person Learning, and What All Parents Need to Know

In this webinar for parents, Parent Centers, and community members, key representatives from the U.S. Department of Education and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discuss safely reopening schools in the fall for in-person learning. Speakers share the process needed to get our children with and without disabilities back in the classroom, including testing and vaccine safety. The webinar is designed to give families an opportunity to express concerns, ask questions, and discuss how to sustain safe operations in schools. CDC spotlights the amazing array of resources it makes available in multiple languages about COVID-19 and vaccinations (including for adolescents), as well materials and toolkits tailored for specific audiences, such as families, community-based organizations, schools, and camp programs.