Mental and Behavioral Health - San Mateo County Office of Education

The San Mateo County Office of Education provides a number of programs and services to districts to support student mental and behavioral health.

Programs

Community Resiliency Model (CRM)®

The Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® trains community members to not only help themselves but to help others within their wider social network. The primary focus of this skills-based, stabilization program is to re-set the natural balance of the nervous system. CRM’s goal is to create “trauma-informed” and “resiliency-focused” communities that share a common understanding of the impact of trauma and chronic stress on the nervous system and how resiliency can be restored or increased using this skills-based approach.

Responding to Acts of Violence or International Conflicts?

High-profile acts of violence, particularly school shootings, can cause stress, trauma, anxiety, or other emotional responses. Visit the School Safety for Families page, which provides tips and resources for both families and educators to support students through difficult times.

Bring CRM to Your School District

SMCOE is building a team of certified CRM teachers that are available to train educators on the six CRM wellness skills as well as the neuroscience behind the model. For pricing and additional information related to CRM training, please email Mary McGrath.

School-Based Mental Health Collaboratives

SMCOE hosts regular meetings where school administrators, teachers, counselors, and other school staff can meet with each other and community providers to learn how to support students' mental health and well-being.

2022-2023

South - Typically held the third Friday of each month at 11:00 am. (School Districts: Belmont/Redwood Shores, Las Lomitas Elementary, Menlo Park City, Portola Valley, Redwood City, Ravenswood City, San Carlos, Sequoia Union, Woodside Elementary)

North - Typically held the first Friday of each month at 8:30 am (School Districts: Millbrae, San Bruno Park, San Mateo Union High School (Peninsula, Capuchino, Mills), South San Francisco Unified, Bayshore Elementary, Brisbane, Jefferson Elementary, Jefferson Union High School, Pacifica)

Central/Coast side - Typically held the second Friday of each month at 10:00 am (School Districts: Burlingame, Cabrillo Unified, Gateway, Hillsborough City, La Honda-Pescadero Unified, San Mateo Foster City, San Mateo Union High School (Burlingame, Hillsdale, Aragon, San Mateo), SMCOE)

Please e-mail Christina Sellers (csellers@smcoe.org), or Mary McGrath (mmcgrath@smcoe.org) for link and schedule information.

NOTE: Dates are subject to change due to district/county calendars and holidays.

Mental Health Student Service Act (MHSSA)

In September 2020, the San Mateo County Office of Education, San Mateo County Health's Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, and 12 school districts received a $6.0 million grant over four years from the state’s Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission to build the capacity of schools to provide mental health supports to their students. The grant addresses student stress and trauma through social-emotional learning and resiliency building programs in the 12 school districts, which received evidence-based social emotional curriculum designed to strengthen school climate and improve student success. The grant also supports specialized school-site behavioral health services in four school districts that have few resources and face significant barriers in supporting mental health services for their students.

Find more information in the County Office of Education's media release or by contacting Mary McGrath at mmcgrath@smcoe.org.

Suicide Prevention Protocol

The purpose of this protocol is to outline administrative procedures for intervening with suicidal and self-injurious students and offer guidelines to school site crisis teams in the recovery phase following a completed suicide.

Translated Pages for Families:

General Guidelines Elementary (Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Tagalog)
General Guidelines Secondary (Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Tagalog)
How to help your child after a suicide (Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Tagalog)
Release to Parents (Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Tagalog)
Return to School Plan (Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Tagalog)
Sample Letter to Parent (Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Tagalog)
Student Safety Plan (Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Tagalog)

Youth Mental Health First Aid

In a concerted effort to create safer schools and communities, San Mateo Count’s Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS) and Office of Education are working in partnership to deliver Youth Mental Health First Aid curriculum to any adult working with or assisting young people, ages 12-24. The course focuses on how to help a young person who may be experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis. Participants will learn:

How to help youth in a crisis or non-crisis situation who is experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge
Unique risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems in adolescents
The importance of early intervention
A 5-Step Action Plan

Parent Project

San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS) offers the Parent Project to anyone who cares for a child or adolescent. It is a free, 11-week course that is offered in both English and Spanish, and it teaches parents and caregivers valuable parenting skills including appropriate ways to discipline; preventing or stopping alcohol, drug, and tobacco use; improving communication skills; and improving grades and school attendance. More information is available on the County of San Mateo Health System's website.