It's no secret that mental health care is a growing need for students across New Jersey.

The state's launched a number of programs to meet those needs, but a new partnership between the Department of Education and Rutgers University is providing 50 schools across the state with a range of supports so they can offer more and better services directly to their students.

I'm joined right now by Annie Murphy, director of the Rutgers University's Center for Comprehensive School Mental Health, who can explain exactly what the Portuguese schools are getting.

And thank you so much for being with us today.

What can you tell us about the training that these 50 schools are now receiving so that they can really improve and increase the amount of mental health services that they're offering?

Sure.

So thanks for having me today.

The schools are going to be receiving a comprehensive set of initiatives.

One of them will include training that will touch on how to implement a comprehensive school mental health system.

They'll also receive individualized coaching.

And as part of that, an individual from our team will be going out to the schools and really being able to really be able to respond to an individualized our support and training.

Some of the topics that will be covered are are doing a needs assessment.

So working with each school, starting from where they are, identifying where they have strengths, where they have needs and then based on that, developing an individualized plan that the schools will carry out.

How are these schools selected?

Because they come from a range of backgrounds and range of really mental health services as it is right now.

Yeah.

So the schools were required to apply to participate and they were assessed based on level of need.

So that looked at their student population, chronic absenteeism, number of discipline referrals.

We also looked at their readiness to implement a project like this and also their commitment to doing so.

So it's about a two and a half year project.

So we really needed schools who would be committed to participating throughout that two and a half years.

And just quickly, when you say ready to implement, is this tangibly they're offering the mental health services or are they partnering with outside organizations?

Explain that a bit.

Sure.

When we say readiness, we don't mean that they necessarily already have the services in place, but that they have individuals who are in a position to learn how to and then put those practices into place.

So schools will be at a variety of places, kind of along the spectrum of what they already have available and will meet them wherever they are and then, like I said, sort of individualize what it is that we need to provide to them in order to help them progress to providing more services, more comprehensive services, services that are better able to respond to their student needs.

So in just a minute left, from the student perspective, what will this look like when it rolls out and also when will it roll out?

Sure.

So I'll start with the last question first.

We are starting to meet with school leadership this week, will be meeting with school mental health leaders starting early next month and then will begin the trainings going from there, from the student perspective, they may see over the next two and a half years more mental health programing come out.

So some of those universal supports that all students will receive.

Schools will likely begin to implement some additional group based interventions, as well as connecting more with their community mental health centers and organizations.

Amazing program.

And Murphy from the Rutgers University Center for Comprehensive School Mental Health.

Thank you so.

Much.

Thank you.