Mental Health and Schools Together

What is MAST-NH?

MAST-NH, or Mental Health and Schools Together - New Hampshire, is a NH CEBIS project funded by the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. This demonstration project in eight communities statewide is designed to integrate school and community mental health services for students needing comprehensive support for social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. The goal of the project will be to streamline the process and increase access to mental health and other community-based services to children and families in need.

Eight communities in New Hampshire will benefit from this initiative: Peterborough, Dover, Candia, Somersworth, Londonderry, Franklin,Tilton and Littleton. Regional collaboratives will be created that include individuals working with the children of these communities and their families, local schools, mental health agencies, juvenile justice agencies, and community organizations.

The MAST-NH initiative contains several distinct yet interrelated themes; all designed to build capacity, improve communication and design a seamless continuum of care. These include:

Developing regional interagency collaboratives with school partners to:

  • Streamline access to care
  • Develop common protocols

Building capacity for wraparound support by:

  • Developing a common curriculum and training process
  • Training wraparound mentors
  • Identifying potential wrap facilitators

Improving prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues by:

  • Identifying issues early
  • Training school personnel in Systematic Screening for Behavioral Disorders (SSBD)
  • Developing a mental health primer for diagnosis and awareness
  • Increasing training and capacity for Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI)

Mapping community resources at the local and regional level

Using function-based support consistently and across contexts

Making information and technical assistance available online

This 18-month planning and demonstration grant, funded in the amount of $368,605, is a collaborative venture between NH CEBIS at SERESC. the Londonderry School District and the 25 schools within the eight communities.

LSCI Training Now Available

Posted: 5 Nov 07 07:36

Training in Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) is now available for NH school personnel participating in the MAST-NH project. Two options are available. A 1-day LSCI overview is available for school personnel who wish to understand basic LSCI approaches for kids in crisis. This one-day overview is available for educators in non-MAST schools as well.

The full 5-day training, intended for school personnel who interact regularly with kids in crisis, results in LSCI certification. For more information on the five-day certification course and to register, please contact Julie Prescott.

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