About Co-Located Mental Health

DPS and CLMH take an ecological approach to social-emotional and mental health, which suggests that child development and academic learning occur in the context of a child’s environment. Because that is the case, the linkages between the systems of a child’s ecology - school and home, school and community, school-based supports and provider agencies, etc. - are all vital for ensuring the wellbeing of DPS students. 

CLMH services are designed with these linkages in mind. The processes of CLMH, from referral to completion, recognize the value of collaboration and communication, particularly between the people who are closest to the student. CLMH also recognizes that many DPS students are exposed to higher than average levels of community violence and trauma and that we must ensure services that are sensitive to that unfortunate reality - proactive when possible and always asset-based and restorative. It also recognizes the financial limitations of many families, which places a high bar on the professionals in the system to act in full accord on behalf of DPS children.