Santa Clara County School-Linked Services

Children and the community are best served by eliminating the boundaries between education and human services. The County wanted to better coordinate various social services and health agencies with the school districts so students and their families can more easily find the help they need. More effective access will help address the high rates of school drop outs, low educational achievement, gang involvement, mental health and substance abuse issues, teen pregnancy, family violence and other issues that hinder youth successfully transitioning to adulthood.

We facilitated a broad-based group of community leaders and representatives of education, law enforcement, behavioral health, social services, youth-serving programs, juvenile justices, children’s advocates, the faith community and public officials to frame solutions and priority issues. The resulting Plan now helps the County and non-profits deliver coordinated and effective health and social services on school campuses and in neighboring communities. Subsequent work helped the new School Linked Services partners craft a Theory of Change and governance model to further support implementation.