Throughout the pandemic, students have experienced mental health challenges due to the impacts of trauma, loss, social isolation, stress and more. 

According to the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at Michigan Medicine, one in three teen girls and one in five teen boys have experienced new or worsening anxiety as a result of the pandemic.  

Our CMF community has been supporting new and innovative programs across the state throughout the pandemic to increase access to mental health services, especially in the virtual environment. 

As we look ahead to slowly reemerging from the pandemic, the Ethel & James Flinn Foundation and the Michigan Health Endowment Fund are working to expand a program that provides mental health resources to schools statewide.

“Rising rates of child and adolescent mental health concerns have been magnified by the pandemic and documented in terms of increased rates of youth considering suicide and significant increases in pediatric mental health related emergency department visits. The need for youth mental health services is tremendous and schools can play an important part in addressing both prevention and improving access to mental health services,” Becky Cienki director, behavioral health at the Health Fund said.

As CMF reported, the Michigan Health Endowment Fund is among several CMF members that have supported the University of Michigan’s Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students (TRAILS) program, which provides mental health resources statewide. 

“Schools want to ensure they are implementing high-quality, evidence-based and coordinated models of care and TRAILS provides this for students K-12,” Cienki said. 

As students look ahead to returning to school in the fall, the Flinn Foundation and the Health Fund are supporting a statewide implementation of the TRAILS program.

“Implementing TRAILS statewide means bringing standardized Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Curriculum and preventative self-help tools to students, parents and staff. It means providing more equitable access to direct services within schools and strengthening links to community supports and implementing best practice suicide prevention and crisis management policies and procedures that save student lives,” Andrea Cole, executive director and CEO of the Flinn Foundation said. 

According to Cole, the Flinn Foundation has brought together education and health foundations, community foundations, family foundations as well as corporate funders to support this work.

Earlier this month, the Governor’s Office of Foundation Liaison (OFL) hosted a convening with the Flinn Foundation, the Health Fund and other CMF members to hear from Elizabeth Koschmann, executive director of TRAILS, about how the program supports students and the potential for statewide reach. 

“Last week, the Health Fund board approved a grant to support our commitment to statewide expansion of TRAILS programming. Together, we have an incredible opportunity to leverage federal, state and philanthropic investments in order to support schools throughout the state in ramping up their capacity to meet the needs of students,” Cienki said. 

According to Cienki, the Health Fund is actively seeking additional philanthropic partners and encourages anyone interested in learning more to reach out for a conversation.

“This type of collaborative investment will establish Michigan as a leading example across the nation of school-delivered social and emotional learning and student mental health programming,” Cienki said.

“We understand the impact this collaborative will have long term on the young people in the communities we all serve. The significance of this unique statewide collaborative opportunity can be a national model for standardizing best practices and equitable access to student mental wellness supports and the connection to improved academic success,” Cole said. 

TRAILS has developed comprehensive manuals and accompanying resources across three tiers of programming designed to meet the mental health care needs of all students through:

•    Universal education and awareness for all students and staff.

•    Targeted intervention for students experiencing mental health difficulties.

•    Suicide risk management protocol for students at risk of suicide.

According to TRAILS, nearly 10,000 people have attended a TRAILS training and an estimated 90,000 students have benefitted from TRAILS programming.

The Flinn Foundation has partnered with TRAILS to support the implementation in Washtenaw County Public Schools and Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD). According to Cole, they have seen tremendous success. 

In Washtenaw, TRAILS is implementing evidence-based programs that include “peer-led stigma-reduction campaigns, student skills groups based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness and suicide prevention and intervention training.” 

In DPSCD, TRAILS is working to improve professional training programs for staff and student mental health through a needs assessment of student emotional health. 

“The need for preventative interventions and self-help tools immediately is critical to helping students adjust and thrive as they transition back to in person learning,” said Cole. 

Want more?

Learn more about TRAILS.