The Brief Intervention for School Clinicians (BRISC) has been the subject of two research studies funded by the Institute for Education Sciences (IES). In the most recent study, 48 high schools in three states (WA, MD, MN) were recruited and assigned to BRISC (n=23) or school-based services as usual (SAU; n=25). Clinicians working in schools assigned to BRISC gave positive ratings of BRISC feasibility, learnability, and acceptability. Students receiving BRISC (n=259) were more likely to receive SMH services at 2 months, more likely to have discharged from SMH by 6 months, and less likely to have received other MH services at 6 months. BRISC students showed greater rates of resolution of their self-reported problems and were more likely to move out of the clinical range for anxiety.
Targeted Condition: Socioemotional learning
Workforce for Student Well-being Initiative (WSW)
In 2023, Washington state was awarded $6 million from the U.S. Department of Education to create a pipeline from Washington state’s five accredited Masters in Social Work training programs to K-12 schools. Called the Workforce for Student Well-being Initiative (WSW), 100 aspiring school social workers will receive conditional scholarships based on their financial need so the cost of getting an education is not a barrier to their getting an advanced degree and then committing to working in a high-need public or tribal school. The goal of the WSW is to help all K-12 students in Washington to thrive by advancing the careers of skilled school social work professionals through training and mentorship.
Global Health Experiential Fellowship
The Global Health Experiential Fellowship (GHEF) is a Global South–North simultaneous training program that prepares students and early-career professionals to become global health researchers. Based in rural Uganda, the fellowship offers immersive, mentored experience in study design, data collection, implementation science, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Fellows contribute to ongoing community-based research alongside local partners, gaining practical skills in ethical engagement, cross-cultural research, and field-based methods. GHEF provides a distinctive opportunity to build research capacity, strengthen career development, and contribute to locally led global health initiatives through Empower Through Health.
Empower Through Health
Empower Through Health (ETH) is a healthcare, research, and education 501c3 organization operating in rural eastern Uganda. ETH runs a health center that provides general medical care for surrounding communities and delivers psychiatric and neurological services across Buyende District (population >400,000). ETH’s research focuses on reducing demand-side barriers to care and partnering with existing community structures to improve mental health outcomes and support recovery after mental health crises. ETH hosts the Global Health Experiential Fellowship (GHEF), a hands-on training program that pairs Ugandan and U.S. trainees on community-engaged research. ETH is also expanding its education mission by launching a primary school to strengthen long-term community wellbeing.
Testing the efficacy of the Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM) implementation strategy
This study will examine the efficacy of the Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM) implementation strategy for promoting building-level implementation leadership, implementation climate, and high-fidelity delivery of evidence-based practices. This study tests whether HELM improves outcomes when used in conjunction with Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), an evidence-based practice. The researchers will compare the effects of PBIS implemented with usual supports and PBIS implemented with HELM. They will also explore what for whom, under what conditions, how equitably, and through which processes HELM works to improve student academic outcomes, as well as its cost-effectiveness.
