Building School-Based Capacity to Support Parenting: Challenges and Lessons Learned

Both schools and caregivers play an important role in supporting children’s mental health, but there are few mechanisms for caregivers and school-based mental health providers to work collaboratively to address children’s needs. Closures of schools during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic left gaps in mental health support services to children and increased the burden on caregivers to ensure their children’s well-being. In this study, investigators explored the feasibility and acceptability of a motivational interviewing-based program in which school-based mental health providers were trained to connect directly to caregivers to assist them in supporting key aspects of their children’s well-being, including sleep, coping, and academic behavior. Results indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the program and a perception that it was helpful to caregivers and children. However, major challenges in recruitment of providers, as well as qualitative interviews with those providers who participated, indicated that the feasibility of implementing such a program is limited without significant additional implementation infrastructure. Findings suggest that structured support of caregivers, accessed through their children’s schools, has high potential for improving child outcomes and family well-being. Future research should explore what implementation infrastructure is needed for schools to effectively offer these types of supports.