Mental Health & Crisis Support
Supporting students' social and emotional health has been a priority for educators throughout Clackamas County. As part of our Student Success Act implementation support, Clackamas ESD offers several services to districts to assist with the implementation of mental health, safety and prevention programs.
We are dedicated to helping districts with the development of comprehensive school safety and prevention programs that promote mental health and well-being, are culturally responsive and foster learning environments where all students thrive because they belong. Supports provided are evidence-based, grounded in equity, trauma-informed and strengths-focused.
Comprehensive suicide prevention plans (Adi's Act)
We are here to help districts develop and build the components of a comprehensive suicide prevention plan as required by Adi’s Act.
- Establishing procedures for prevention, intervention and postvention
- Identifying school district designee and building a designee flowchart for intervention referrals
- Designing a review request procedure by which a person may request a school district to review the actions of a school or district response to suicidal risk
- Centering cultural and linguistic responsiveness into procedures, supports, and methods to address the needs of youth at high risk for suicide, particularly youth who are LGBTQ2SIA+, BIPOC, youth bereaved by suicide, in out-of-home settings, youth with disabilities, and youth from communities that are currently and have been historically underserved
- Developing a staff training strategy and delivering training
- Providing guidance on making the plan accessible at the district office and on the school district website, in compliance with legal requirements
Suicide prevention, intervention and postvention training
Oregon Health Authority recommends that all staff receive an annual 1–2 hour training covering key risk factors and warning signs, the importance of directly asking about suicide and how to refer students for help, including your school’s specific referral process. Additionally, school counselors, mental health staff and administrators who may be involved in screening should receive training on suicide screening and safety planning at least once every three years.
We help districts develop a staff training strategy and provide training in state-approved suicide prevention, intervention and postvention programs.
Trainings include:
- Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) suicide prevention steps
- Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)
- Sources of Strength suicide prevention program
- Suicide Assessment in Various Environments
- Suicide postvention support in partnership with Clackamas County Postvention Support
- Regional Flight Team training for new and experienced members, plus leadership training for those interested in leading during school crisis responses
Upcoming trainings
To request a training, please fill out our Mental Health Services Training Request Form
Clackamas Regional Flight Team
Clackamas ESD led the formation of the Clackamas Regional Flight Team, a countywide support network for responding to school crises including natural disasters or the death of a student or staff member. No crisis is alike, and having a trained group prepared to respond is critical to beginning the healing process, preventing further harm, and identifying and protecting vulnerable students. Clackamas ESD acts as the team's county-wide facilitator and organizes training for new and experienced members, as well as leadership training for members interested in stepping up to lead the regional flight team during a school crisis response.
For Regional Flight Team support and grief and suicide resources, please contact:
Behavioral Safety Assessment (formally Threat Assessment)
We work with Clackamas County Juvenile Justice and engaged districts by providing support and training for districts and community partners in level 1, level 2 and the newly expanded threat assessment behavioral safety assessment (BSAT) process.
Every Student Belongs
It is our goal to assist districts with Every Student Belongs program development. This includes providing resources and training designed to help districts increase and build a culture of belonging for all students, provide districts with assistance in understanding all students belong guidance and bias incident response reporting requirements.
Virtual community of practice meetings
For meeting link or more information contact:
Program Contacts
Student Success Act News
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