Universal Youth Mental Wellness Supports

  • Method: Design, Test & Scale
  • Impact Area: Improving Mental Wellness

Meeting Young People’s Needs:

CaroNova and cross-sector partners from both states are co-designing supports to establish universal standards for youth mental wellness tailored to the Carolinas’ diverse communities. Leveraging existing work to collaboratively develop a sustainable, inclusive implementation framework and involving state and local policymakers early and consistently, CaroNova will align policy with practice, address systemic barriers, and create conditions for long-term sustainability and scalability.

Where We Are

South Carolina
  • CaroNova brought together local and state experts to co-design and test comprehensive school-based behavioral health standards through the Mental Wellness Through Schools (MWTS) pilot in the Pee Dee region of SC.
  • CaroNova and key partners (Florence 1 Schools, BCCW, SBHA, McLeod, MUSC, and OMH – Pee Dee Mental Health) worked with SCDHHS to establish a 2024-25 pilot in F1S.
  • Now we are working to refine, test, and validate the MWTS Framework through a second pilot, working with Spartanburg 2 School District and the Spartanburg Academic Movement. Other partners include SBHA, BCCW, Spartanburg Regional Health System, OMH, ReGenesis Health, The Forrester Center for Behavioral Health, and Prisma Health.
  • F1S is continuing to sustain and scale pilot work; we will continue to monitor data to track long-term impact.
North Carolina
  • CaroNova supported the Plan Steering Committee through an exploration process, grounded in human-centered design, including a Youth Design Day in August 2025, to determine the greatest opportunity for improving youth mental wellness in North Carolina:
    • Schools offer the greatest opportunity to reach youth and normalize mental health support.
    • Current services are fragmented, overwhelming school staff and limiting access.
    • Youth emphasized the need for accessible, normalized mental health and wellness support in schools.
  • The PSC aligned its work to focus on a unified approach to developing universal mental wellness standards delivered through schools. This will be achieved by engaging partners and key stakeholders through a Continuum of Care Workgroup, Data Alignment Workgroup, and two Youth Design Days.
    • CoC Workgroup: This workgroup will develop a universal mental wellness service array that ensures all youth receive the same supports through schools.
    • Data Workgroup: This workgroup will develop an aligned strategic framework to interpret existing school-based data and help inform key partners on the biggest issues affecting youth mental wellness.
    • Youth Design Days: These events are an opportunity for youth to share their perspectives and ideas on mental health supports in their communities.

Where We're Going

South Carolina
  • 2026-27 Pilot: CaroNova and partners will co-design the pilot with Spartanburg 2 School District from Feb-June of 2026, with a launch during the 2026-27 school year.
  • 2027-28 Pilot: CaroNova and partners will co-design a pilot with Pickens County School District in spring 2027, with a launch during the 2027-28 school year.
  • Understanding the needs around continuity of care and connecting kids to care in schools and then ensuring they get connected back to the right level of care, whether in or out of school
  • 2026-28 Refine and Scale SC SBH Standards and Processes: CaroNova and partners will continue to refine comprehensive school-behavioral health standards and processes for SC, with a sustainable plan developed by the end of 2028 to begin scaling across the state.
    • CaroNova will cultivate partners across South Carolina who are interested in MWTS or similar work to support scaling it across the state.
    • Through workgroups, CaroNova and its partners will explore the landscape of payment models and mechanisms available to start or independently sustain school behavioral health initiatives.
    • CaroNova and partners will work to understand how to strengthen and enhance continuity of care for students who receive care outside of the school setting.
North Carolina

In 2026, CaroNova and its partners will:

  • Define a school-based universal youth mental health service array
  • Identify selected elements of that array for early testing and piloting
  • Develop an aligned data strategy, for tracking and reporting on youth mental health, with key data partners and stakeholders
  • Begin building out tracking and monitoring requirements for key components of the data alignment strategy
  • Define long-term policy/regulatory priorities to improve access to school-based universal youth mental wellness supports

South Carolina Partners

Florence 1 Schools

Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)

McLeod Health

MUSC Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness (BCCW)

Pee Dee Mental Health Center (OMH)

 

Prisma Health

ReGenesis Health Care

South Carolina School Behavioral Health Academy (SBHA)

South Carolina Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Office of Mental Health (BHDD OMH)

 

South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS)

Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM)

Spartanburg County School District 2

Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System

The Duke Endowment

The Forrester Center for Behavioral Health

North Carolina Partners

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation

The Duke Endowment

El Futuro

Eustress

Forsyth County Law Enforcement

The Leon Levine Foundation

NC Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs

NC Alliance of YMCAs

NC Child

NC Counts Coalition

North Carolina Psychiatry Association

North Carolina Chamber of Commerce

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

Novant Health

Seven Steps to Innovation & Impact

CaroNova’s approach to pioneering lasting real-world health solutions is systematic, research-driven, collaborative, and community-minded. We purposely identify opportunities where partners can work together to cultivate, co-design, and catalyze health improvements in the Carolinas through our process.

South Carolina

Innovation Sprint: Identify sprint sites to test proof of concept. Apply learnings from the sprints to further refine the model. Develop an implementation assistance plan

North Carolina

Opportunity Launch: Engage those most impacted to inform and refine our opportunity for reform.

Discover How We Work

Resources

MWTS Implementation Toolkit

MWTS Implementation Toolkit Worksheets

Pilot 1 Outcomes Summary

Pilot 1 Case Study

Referral Reference Guide (Florence 1 Schools PDF)

Workflow of the MWTS Framework

MWTS Overview, Committees, and Workgroups

Youth Mental Health Opportunity Continuum Diagram

YMH Framework

YMH Patient Journey Map

The State of Youth Mental Health in the Carolinas (Executive Summary)

The State of Youth Mental Health in the Carolinas

Crisis in the Carolinas: A Framework for Youth Mental Health

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Interested In Partnering With Us?

CaroNova brings together healthcare leaders, policymakers, community organizations, and investors to tackle the Carolinas’ most pressing health challenges.

We are always interested in opportunities to bring partners and resources together, support a robust change management process, and provide technical assistance to drive innovation. If you would like to learn more about working with us, please reach out below.

Let’s Create Lasting Change in Healthcare.

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