Key stakeholders who should participate in this mapping work include, but are not limited to:

• School-based personnel such as guidance counselors, school nurses, principals, special education directors, community liaisons, and program coordinators
• Family and student organizations and leaders
• Representatives of community agencies and organizations such as Chief Executive Officers of non-profit providers and public agencies, leaders of organizations such as Big Brothers or the YMCA, immigrant or refugee-serving organizations, after-school agencies, or the United Ways
• Representatives of public agencies such as income support, vocational rehabilitation
• Public health and mental health leaders
• Pediatricians and other medical personnel

Technical people who can assist in this work include:

• State and local agency data management staff
• IT personnel and those familiar with digital technology
• Policy and legal staff

Figuring out how to cross-tabulate the data you are gathering from the different “accounts” of multiple agencies and organizations is a challenge. Pulling together a strong group whose members have diverse skills will be useful.

USING THE TOOL OF A PUBLIC HEALTH FRAMEWORK

You may find it useful to conceptualize these programs in terms of the public health framework that commonly differentiates among three basic levels of interventions and is sometimes represented by a triangle with a wide base, representing child development and mental health promotion approaches, and a narrow apex, representing intensive interventions:

• Positive child, youth, and family development as well as prevention of problems, for all children (universal),
• Early intervention for some children, timely and targeted interventions and supports for moderate mental health and behavioral needs and situational stresses (selective)
• Intensive interventions and supports covers more intense and sustained services for a few children, those with serious emotional and behavioral challenges (indicated).

Updated June 2015