Projects
METRICS
The Mental Health Evaluation, Training, Research, and Innovation Center for Schools (METRICS) is a national school mental health technical assistance center that provides support to nearly 300 federal grantees of school mental health grant programs.
Project METRICS (Mental health, Evaluation, Training assistance, Research and Innovation Center for Schools) is a 4-year, $10 million federal grant to establish a national research and technical assistance center to promote school mental health and remedy the shortage of school mental health professionals. The center will be led by SMHC researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of South Florida, University of California Santa Barbara, and the Scanlan Center for School Mental Health at the University of Iowa. METRICS will support nearly 300 grantees across the US and is part of a broader initiative to double the number of school mental health professionals and is a key priority of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, that includes a five-year, $1 billion investment in school-based mental health programs.
The primary aims of METRICS include supporting grantees by (1) partnering with institutes of higher education and local education agencies to develop a diverse pipeline of school mental health professionals, (2) facilitating communities of practice for sharing grantee resources and experiences, (3) offering training on grant management such as data reporting, (4) disseminating evidence-based resources, and (S) hosting webinars focused on continuous improvement. The METRICS team will provide ongoing coaching and technical assistance to grantees as well as develop a center website to host resources and data systems. METRICS represents a significant investment in the future of school mental health and the opportunity to improve access to high-quality services for all students.
