Schools across the nation face challenges in preventing youth violence and promoting healthy social and emotional youth development.

Wyoming is the least populated state in the nation with 17 of its 23 counties classified as frontier and four classified as rural. Although there are many positives associated with frontier and rural living, research suggests that access to mental health services in these areas can be more difficult than in more densely populated places. To build school-based mental health infrastructure and increase student access to mental health services, the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) is partnering with the Wyoming Department of Health, local education agencies, and behavioral health providers to implement two Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) grants. By more efficiently meeting student behavioral health and substance abuse needs, the WDE aims to help improve student mental health and academic outcomes. 

The WDE and its partners hope to learn more about barriers and facilitators to implementation, as well as information about whether program activities are implemented as intended and are associated with the intended results. They also hope to learn the extent to which the project increases access to mental health and substance abuse services and improves mental health outcomes.

NORC will collect data to support implementation and demonstrate the impact of school-based behavioral health services.

Our evaluation will examine progress toward the 18 objectives the project team identified for their work, the seven performance measures the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration identified for all grant recipients, and the short- and mid-term outcomes in the theory of change. Notable evaluation questions we will explore include:

• What strategies were effective in increasing awareness of mental illness, substance use disorders, and co-occurring issues among school-aged youth?
• To what extent did Project AWARE Local Education Agencies (LEAs) increase access to care for youth in participating LEAs?
• What are some of the barriers and facilitators to school-based mental health services?
• Do students who complete services with a mutually agreed cessation of treatment report improved mental wellness, functioning, and support and belonging?
• What is the effect of participation in grant services on student attendance?