Caring Across Communities

With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 15 sites across the U.S. are developing model mental health programs that engage schools, families, students, mental health agencies and other community organizations to build effective, easily-accessed services for children and youth.

Program Description The Call for Proposals (PDF version, HTML version) describes the key common elements shared by all 15 funded sites.  The Caring Across Communities initiative falls under the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Vulnerable Populations program area. Grant applications are no longer being accepted for this program.

Grantee Descriptions Each of the 15 funded sites describes its objectives, target populations, community partners and services provided. 

Asian American Recovery Services
Children’s Crisis Treatment Center
Children’s Hospital Boston
Duke University
Family Service Association of Bucks County
Imperial County Office of Education
Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic
Los Angeles Unified School District
Minneapolis Public Schools
NYU School of Medicine
Portland Public Schools
Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center 
The Village Family Service Center
UNC at Chapel Hill
World Relief-Chicago

Publications from Caring Across Communities

Eileen Gale Kugler and Olga Acosta Price.  Helping immigrant and refugee students succeed: It's not just what happens in the classroom. Washington, DC: Center for Health and Health Care in Schools, School of Public Health and Health Services, The George Washington University.

Eileen Kugler. Issue Brief #2: Partnering with Parents and Families to Support Immigrant and Refugee Children at School. June 2009.

Dina Birman and Wing Yi Chan. Issue Brief #1: Screening and Assessing Immigrant and Refugee Youth in School-Based Mental Health Programs. Spring 2008.

Fact Sheet -- Children of Immigrants and Refugees: What the research tells us. March 2006.

InFocus: Children in Immigrant Families. February 2005.

Margaret Whitsett. Mental Health Interpretation: Recommended Standards and Best Practices. Fall 2007.

Margaret Whitsett. Mental Health Interpreter Training Table: Where to find training? What type? What's the cost? Fall 2007.

Margaret Whitsett. Tips for Mental Health Interpretation: Practice-Based Guidance for Working with Interpreters in Mental Health Settings. January 2008.

Presentations at Annual Conferences

At the 2007, 2008, April 2009 and October 2009 grantee meetings, national experts provided guidance on program management, funding, and mental health service delivery challenges, among other topics.

Mental Health Screening in Schools, Joshua Kaufman, School Mental Health Services, Los Angeles Unified School District. October 2007.

Beyond Exceptional Care: A Communications Imperative – Attracting, Keeping and Growing Support for the Well-Being of Children of Immigrants and Refugees, Seth Klukoff and Mark Marosits, Worldways Social Marketing. October 2007.

RWJF Announces New School-Connected Mental Health Services

New Initiative Will Fund School-Based Mental Health Services for Children and Youth