Create a proposal on a new initiative to help teens deal with mental illness in school?

Answer 1

1. See what is currently out there. It is important to not reinvent the wheel whenever you can. This can be done through a literature review online, such as PubMed, or through other online peer-reviewed resources.
2. Define the parameters of mental illness you are addressing. This will be the meat and potatoes of your project - the Logistics (part 1). Is this initiative targeting ALL types of mental illness? Mental illness is a large umbrella, and it is important to organize your focus. Are you targeting primarily depression? Anxiety? What events have determined why you need this initiative in the first place? How will mental illness be identified in teens?
3. Building your initiative idea. You will want to define what the initiative is to address (for this instance, we will propose identifying teens with depression). The initiative itself (again for example) could have all faculty on alert, specifically teachers, if there is a drastic change in the student's participation or a significant drop in a student's performance. Teachers could hold a meeting with the student and refer students who drop more than 2 letter grades in a quarter within a class. However, the initiative should also be available to those whose grades are not affected as well and who request mental health services.
4. Assess and garner your support team to execute this project. The Logistics (part 2). You will need to see what funds, time, and personnel are available for this project. This includes a strong mental health team, including social workers, psychologists, and optimally psychiatrists as well to prescribe medications. Preferably, this team will have experience and passion for treating a pediatric and adolescent population. Is there a donation to help support this? Many people will need to allocate time outside of, during, or in addition to their work hours on this initiative, and may request compensation (if not kindly volunteering their time). You will likely need people to do the following: write up drafts of what your mission statement is with this new initiative; find a protected, quiet space to talk with teens with mental illness; and faculty buy-in from the school staff to allow teens to be seen during school hours.
5. Obtain pre-initiative data, peri-initiative data, and post-initiative data. You can survey teachers and students before, during, and after to assess the progress of the initiative, and this feedback is critical to having a dynamic and ultimately successful and sustainable initiative.