This brief outlines how the Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE) supports the educational and mental health needs of 25 school districts in the county. SCOE partnered with three school districts--Hughson Unified, Patterson, and Turlock--to enhance their school-based mental health programs for approximately 22,000 students. The brief…

This article and its Online Supplemental Material describe the development of the California School Wellness Index (CSWI), a tool to aid mental health research and practice in schools, specifically for wellness screening and monitoring. The CSWI is a 0-40 composite index derived from responses to the Brief Multidimensional Student Life…

Research Findings: Emotion talk (ET) is an emotion socialization practice theorized to promote children's socioemotional competence. The present study examined parent and child ET in two subgroups of Chinese-heritage families in low-income communities: Chinese immigrant families in U.S. (CA) and Taiwanese families in Taiwan (TW). In a sample of 75…

Public perceptions of college students and their needs have not evolved. Likewise, embedded in the minds of policymakers is a traditional picture of higher education's mission as largely focused on teaching and learning. To some extent, this is true for college staff, as well. As a result, shifting the paradigms around social, economic, and…

Over half of the children between the ages of 1 and 5 in California are classified as dual language learners (DLLs), with most identified as Latinx and from Spanish-speaking backgrounds. Latinx students are consistently under-identified and undertreated for mental health services, necessitating a change in service delivery that begins with…

California has long been on the cutting edge of social and political change. This trendsetting continues today on issues from addressing climate change to supporting immigrant communities to ensuring equal rights for all. But, when reviewing the grades of this year's California Children's Report Card, it is difficult not to ask the question: why…

Approximately one out of every three or four youths worldwide will meet the criteria for a formal mental health disorder in their lifetime (Costello, Mustillo, Keller, & Angold, 2004). Considering that approximately half of all mental disorders have onset by 14 years of age (World Health Organization, 2014), it is important to be mindful of…

Vision screenings are intended to efficiently identify students with possible visual impairment and initiate a referral for diagnosis and treatment. In many cases, at-risk students do not access the recommended care or experience delays in receiving care. The purpose of this article is to report the effect on adherence to vision screening…

This paper presents a set of strategies and options that California can use to leverage Medi-Cal, the State's Medicaid program, to move toward an equitable, advanced health delivery system for its children. Close to five million children are enrolled in Medi-Cal, more than two-thirds of whom are Black and Brown children. California's program alone…

Young people across California are leading the way forward socially, culturally, and politically. They are organizing for racial justice, learning and working and caring for family members during a pandemic, and voting in record numbers. The past two years with the COVID-19 pandemic has been hardest on kids, particularly children of color, in…

This report has been prepared to document the in-person instruction practices developed and implemented by colleges during the pandemic. The report is intended to provide assistance to California community colleges in planning for continuity of instruction when fully returning to in-person instruction for career and technical education (CTE)…

Despite innovations in the screening and early identification of students who may benefit from school mental health services, many schools struggle to link screening to intervention decisions, particularly at the Tier 2 level. Universal complete mental health screening, which measures strengths along with risk factors, is a strength-based approach…

Asthma is related to school absenteeism and underperformance in elementary students. This pilot study assessed whether school nurse case management (CM) in children identified with asthma impacts academic performance and school absenteeism in one school. A validated questionnaire was used to identify children at risk for asthma and CM was provided…

Black and Latino young men who have sex with men (YMSM) are at disproportionate risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV. This study informs school-centered strategies for connecting YMSM to health services by describing their willingness, perceived safety, and experiences in talking to school staff about sexual health.…

Lack of progress for improving the lives of kids is unacceptable. All children need stability and a path to opportunity. This is true for nearly half of California's children who live in low-income families, where caregivers struggle to afford the quality support and services they need for their kids. This is also true for the approximately…