Shared Agenda Seed Grant

In October 2002, the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Mental Health were jointly awarded a State Seed Grant from the Policymaker Partnership (PMP) at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) and the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) to enhance the state's ability to build collaboration across mental health, education and family serving organizations in developing a shared agenda for children's mental health.

This grant is a direct follow-up to the May 2002 distribution of the concept paper, Mental Health, Schools & Families Working Together For All Children & Youth: Toward a Shared Agenda.

The planning grant supports cross-stakeholder dialogue to:

• Understand the interests of each stakeholder group

• Articulate gaps & disconnects across systems

• Identify redundancies

• Describe opportunities and resources

• Build a commitment to address barriers

• Initiate cross-stakeholder involvement in action initiatives that are responsive to identified issues

With collaboration between the Ohio Department of Mental Health, the Ohio Department of Education, the Center for Learning Excellence, the Center for School-Based Mental Health Programs, the Ohio Mental Health Network for School Success Affiliates and Regional Action Networks, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, and the Ohio Federation for Children’s Mental Health, Ohio successfully demonstrated a commitment to develop a shared agenda. The establishment of the six mental health regional action networks, which provide support for the expansion and improvement of mental health services in Ohio's schools, positions Ohio for moving effectively through the planning process required by the grant.

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Follow the following links to learn about the Partnership between the Ohio Department of Mental Health and the Ohio Department of Education that resulted in the Seed Grant Award and the three Phases of Implementation of the Grant.

• Shared Agenda Main Page

• The Ohio Seed Grant: Partnership between ODMH and ODE

• Phase 1- Statewide Forum for Policymakers

• Phase 2 – Regional Forums For Policy Implementations and Consumer Stakeholders

• Phase 3 – A Legislative Hearing Involving Key Leadership of Relevant House and Senate Committees

• Phase 4 - Ad Hoc Steering Committee

• Shared Agenda Materials

The findings and recommendations from these phases have been developed into Guiding Principles, Goals and Objectives, which is being promoted broadly throughout Ohio.

Shared Agenda Guiding Principles, Goals, and Objectives