| For over 35 years Project Head Start has been serving preschool children and their families. Head Start is comprised of many components with the Mental Health Component being a crucial aspect. Performance Standards are the guiding force of the Mental Health Component, although they are broad in scope and vague. It is not clear how Performance Standards are implemented within individual Head Start programs. Head Start mental health personnel were surveyed to assess how they implemented the Mental Health Component and how they interpreted the Performance Standards.; Respondents were from 64 sites across New York state. The majority of sites reported they did not have a Mental Health Coordinator, as recommend by the Performance Standards, to implement the mental health component. A variety of personnel, including the Health, Disabilities, and Education Coordinators, as well as teachers were noted to be responsible for implementing the mental health component. Sites further relied on the services of an outside Mental Health Consultant. The great majority of sites reported that Mental Health Consultants were available to their programs, yet a small percentage were out of compliance reporting no access to a consultant. Respondents reported an average of 9 hours of consultant support per week, significantly more than was recommended by the Performance Standards. Licensed psychologists, social workers, and school psychologists served as consultants at most sites. The results of this study suggest that most typically indirect mental health services were performed (i.e., consultation, referrals, training). There was not a significant relationship between the demographic variables (size and location of site) of responding sites and the provision of mental health services. The majority of sites reported that they were trained in a variety of areas related to mental health, yet many sites reported staff were not prepared for students with social, emotional, or behavioral problems. It was reported that the most significant barriers to the acquisition of community mental health services were lack of affordable service providers and transportation. Barriers to the acquisition of on-site mental health services were reportedly due to lack of funding and trained qualified staff. |
