Sources of Strength in Schools

Sources of Strength

Coalitions that Adopted

Healthy Teen Minds 鈥� Calumet, Outagamie, and Winnebago Counties

Strategy Type

School-based

Strategy Goal

Reduce the rate of depression among teens by implementing population-level strategies that focus on prevention, including promoting social-connectedness, resiliency and help-seeking behavior among youth; intervention for struggling teens; and improving access to care.

Intended Population

Students and youth-serving staff in middle and high schools across Calumet, Outagamie, and Winnebago Counties.

Strategy Background

In 2016, the Healthy Teen Minds initiative made the strategic decision to invest in a region-wide implementation of Sources of Strength, a best practice youth mental health promotion and suicide prevention program.

This project was informed by alarming youth mental health data and community concern over a growing youth mental health crisis. At the time, the community was reeling from a cluster of teen suicides in Kaukauna and several other unrelated teen suicides throughout the Fox Cities. 2015 data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) across Calumet, Outagamie, and Winnebago Counties revealed that about one-fourth of local teens reported feeling 鈥渟ad or hopeless鈥� on the survey, which was used as a proxy for teen depression. Students in the region were also attempting suicide at a higher rate than the state and national averages.

Sources of Strength in Schools Color Wheel Sources of Strength uses an upstream approach to suicide prevention and moves beyond singular risk factors to focus on multiple sources of support. The program incorporates teams of Peer Leaders mentored by Adult Advisors to change social norms and encourage students to individually assess and develop strengths in their lives. Sources of Strength is rooted in eight "strengths" 鈥� research-backed support factors that protect against suicide risk. The strengths include family support, positive friends, mentors, healthy activities, generosity, spirituality, physical and mental health.

Sources of Strength is radically positive and uses Peer Leaders to spread messages of 鈥渉ope, help, and strength鈥� that change school culture by growing help-seeking behavior, breaking down codes of silence around mental health struggles, and improving perceptions of adult support. The program involves strategically designed strength-based messaging campaigns developed by local peer teams to improve school culture and positively impact their peers throughout the school and community.

Appleton North Sources students The Healthy Teen Minds team chose the Sources program as a means to improve the mental health of teens in the tri-county region, with the goal of implementing it at all local high schools, along with a middle school 鈥減ilot program鈥� in three schools. The coalition used AHW funding to dramatically reduce the program鈥檚 cost by 75% for schools and create a regional trainer certification program, further reducing costs. Participating schools committed to three years of annual trainings. Ultimately, the coalition was able to successfully embed Sources of Strength in 22 local schools and certify 14 regional trainers to carry the program forward.

In addition to embedding the program in local middle and high schools, Healthy Teen Minds worked to ensure a sustainable model for Sources of Strength in the community. One of the coalition鈥檚 partners, ThedaCare, used Healthy Teen Minds鈥� business and training model to duplicate the project within their service area, which includes six adjacent counties to the north and west of the coalition鈥檚 footprint, leading to implementation in 12 additional high schools. Further, the coalition held conversations with the local Cooperative Educational Service Agency, CESA 6, to increase collaboration and discuss options for further program sustainability. After sending their own staff to the coalition鈥檚 training event, CESA 6 ultimately agreed to take over the program under their Allies in Mental Health Education (AMHE) initiative, creating a path for additional schools in the region to implement and sustain Sources of Strength for years to come.

Did you know: Sources of Strength is considered the first suicide prevention program to demonstrate effectiveness using peer leaders to enhance protective factors associated with reducing suicide in a school.

Strategy: Creating a Reduced Cost Model

Growing a region-wide implementation of Sources of Strength at middle schools and high schools in the requires several key steps. Though Sources is a very popular school-based mental health promotion program, its cost to implement and sustain is a barrier for many schools, particularly for small, rural districts with limited budgets. What helped make Healthy Teen Minds’ project successful was their ability to create a business model that dramatically reduced the cost for schools to implement the program by 75 percent through investing in the certification of regional trainers.

Twenty-two schools that joined the project committed to three years of consecutive trainings to allow the program to take hold, grow and positively influence school culture. Twelve school-based trainers were trained across eight schools.

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Consult with the National Sources of Strength Program

To begin your work implementing Sources of Strength in local school districts, start by building your relationship with the National Sources of Strength team. The national team can support your vision for a regional implementation of Sources and intention to recruit, hire, and certify regional trainers.

Generate Awareness and Buy-in

Spend time calling, emailing, and meeting with local school administrators to generate awareness of your efforts to implement Sources in your community and get school districts on board. This can include a presentation and overview of the program to school stakeholders, such as school boards, district administrators, and school staff.

Tip: Once the program has been successfully implemented, work with local media to build public awareness of the program and garner further buy-in from additional school districts.

Sources of Strength FAQ (PDF)

Review and Sign Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)

Once schools have decided to implement the program, work with them to review and sign the MOA, which outlines the requirements and responsibilities of each party, including a three-year training/implementation schedule and cost requirements.

Sources of Strength MOA Template (PDF)

Develop Local Cohorts

During the early stages of implementation, work with schools eager to adopt the program and those that may already be working on school-based mental health. Identifying willing leaders from these early adopters helps build momentum and support of the program and helps create a contagion effect. As other schools become increasingly aware of the program and the success experienced by a first cohort of schools, others will likely want to follow suit, and adopt the program.

Strategy: Localizing Trainers

Sources of Strength involves recruiting and training a diverse group of students and staff to hold the respective positions of Peer Leaders and Adult Advisors. The training model is broken into two foundational trainings. First, school staff attend the Adult Advisor training for three-to-four hours in late summer or early fall. Once school begins, the Adult Advisors nominate a group of Peer Leaders they believe would be good leaders and role models, to participate in the day-long Peer Leader training. While the National Sources of Strength office’s certified trainers typically lead these trainings, Healthy Teen Minds invested in the training and certification of local, regional trainers, reducing costs and providing the additional benefit of having local trainers who can build relationships with schools, offer ongoing support, and remain in the community to offer trainings long-term.

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Investing in Local Trainer(s)

The first step to creating a localized trainer model involves identifying community member(s) with a passion and dedication to improving mental health to attend the weeklong “Train the Trainer” (or T4T) skills session hosted by the National Sources of Strength Training Team to become a “provisional trainer.” Following this training, the provisional trainer must then co-train with national trainers at two Adult Advisor trainings and two Peer Leader trainings.

Train First Cohort of Schools

The second step to creating a localized training model is to bring in the National Sources of Strength Training Team to conduct the Adult Advisor and Peer Leader trainings with the first cohort of schools. The local trainer participates in these training sessions alongside the national trainers to complete their certification requirements.

Note: The Health Teen Minds project invested in training and certifying two regional trainers who both had training experience and a background in youth mental health.

Consider Hosting a Local Train the Trainer Skills Session

After establishing the foundation for Sources in the community, consider hosting a local T4T to re-certify the regional trainers. Certified trainers must attend a T4T every three years to maintain their certification. Not only does this process allow for recertification, but also provides an opportunity to certify additional school-based trainers who can sustain the program in their own school districts.

Note: Of those who attended Healthy Teen Minds' local T4T, 14 went on to train alongside the regional trainers and become official school-based trainers in their respective districts.

Strategy: Creating a System for Evaluation

To be successful in implementing Sources of Strength, schools must work to continuously improve the program through evaluation. However, most schools do not have the capacity to analyze program data, so Healthy Teen Minds took over that responsibility, ultimately allowing schools to focus on creating effective campaigns with guidance and direction from the coalition. Their evaluation model is as follows:

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Conduct Surveys

After the first year of implementation and at the start of each consecutive school year, administer the online evaluation surveys for all Adult Advisors and Peer Leaders to gauge the quality of the program by recording changes in the school鈥檚 level of student social connectedness, connections between students and trusted adults, access to resources, protective factors, and help-seeking.

Peer Leader Survey (PDF)
Adult Advisor Survey (PDF)

Administer Fidelity Check/Assess Activity Log Forms

As you approach the close of the school year, continue reminding school staff of the deadlines to submit Activity Log Forms. You should use these documents to assess a school’s fidelity to the program and provide a score.

Activity Log Form (PDF)

Hold Cohort Data Meetings

After data is collected from the annual evaluations and activity log forms have been returned, schedule meetings with schools to review findings from the surveys and discuss fidelity scores. These meetings create the opportunity to coach and support Adult Advisor teams as they work to troubleshoot challenges and make improvements for the coming school year.

Challenges and Tactics to Address Them

Navigating successful strategy implementation can be complex, and obstacles may arise that set your plan back. Read about strategies you can use to run a successful workshop:

List of Challenges & Tactics

From managing a large network of school cohorts to ensuring deadlines are met, the path forward is often challenging. The following section includes common challenges faced when coordinating Sources of Strength and tactics recommended by Healthy Teen Minds to address them and pave the way for successful implementation.

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Cost of Implementation

Implementing Sources of Strength can be an expensive endeavor in a school, especially for smaller districts. To reduce the cost-burden, consider developing cost-sharing options with schools if funding allows.

Cost-Sharing Model (PDF)

Fidelity to Documentation Report-outs

Not every school will report out on their campaigns on time for a number of reasons. To address this, ensure that you are continuously reaching out and making contact with school staff and Adult Advisors ahead of time. Additionally, regu

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