mental WELLNESS THROUGH SCHOOLS

CaroNova is normalizing mental wellness for all youth through collaborative, cross-sector efforts in schools, healthcare, and the community.

In 2022, the South Carolina Legislature funded the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) to strengthen the state’s behavioral health system and engaged CaroNova to develop the South Carolina Behavioral Health Action Plan (SCBHAP). Guided by the Master Plan Advisory Committee (MPAC), the SCBHAP evaluated every level of care — from community prevention to inpatient services — and prioritized upstream, school- and community-based supports to meet youth where they are.

Leveraging SCDHHS’s Medicaid coverage of nearly 60% of SC children and CaroNova’s growing K–12 behavioral health expertise, Florence 1 School District (F1S) was selected to design and test a comprehensive school-based mental health model. A readiness assessment confirmed F1S as an ideal pilot site, and the decision was further supported by the new Leatherman Pavilion — a regional hub providing wrap-around behavioral health services.

CaroNova convened a Continuity of Care Workgroup to advise on standards to improve coordination across youth serving sectors and align existing resources, and a Pilot Design Workgroup of school district and statewide leaders to ensure the pilot was rooted in local realities and scalable across South Carolina. The pilot took place during the 2024-25 school year, and CaroNova is now developing a toolkit and other resources for districts and their community partners to adopt their own Mental Wellness Through Schools models.

• Improving the reliability of care continuity across settings

• Increasing early access to services through universal supports

• Increasing behavioral and mental health knowledge for all school staff

• Strengthening Referral Pathways: A referral pathway is the series of actions or steps taken after identifying a youth with a potential mental health issue. School-based teams made up of school staff, community organizations, and family members establish workflows that ensure that students will be matched with interventions that effectively meet their needs.

• Professional Development and Coaching: Educators and school staff are given the tools and confidence to connect students to the right resources at the right time, and learn how to navigate identification and referral.

• Resource Mapping: Identifying, visually representing, and sharing information about internal and external supports and services helps to use resources more efficiently, identifies strengths and gaps, informs quality improvement, and advances action planning.

• School Behavioral Health Funding Recommendations: Multiple funding streams can cover the cost of school based mental and behavioral health services. Local, state, and national finance experts will develop recommendations to sustainably fund an ideal comprehensive school behavioral health system.

CaroNova and our partners are working to bring the Mental Wellness Through Schools framework to another pilot site in South Carolina to test its scalability, while continuing to track data and support Florence 1 Schools. We are refining recommendations for sustainable funding and are sharing best practices and lessons learned with North Carolina through the development of the North Carolina Youth Mental Health Action Plan.