- October 2, 2026
- Jennifer Salerno
Discover insights from a new case study showing how a school mental health screening program powered by trauma-responsive screening technology is helping educators identify needs earlier and strengthen support for students.
Schools across the country are facing an urgent youth mental health crisis. Anxiety, depression, trauma exposure, substance use, and emotional isolation continue to impact students at alarming rates and too many young people still struggle silently until they reach a crisis point.
That’s why school leaders nationwide are increasingly exploring more proactive approaches to adolescent wellness, risk screening, and school-based intervention systems that identify needs earlier and connect students to meaningful support faster.
At Possibilities for Change, we recently partnered with Baltimore County Public Schools to implement Rising Together Schoolwide Mental Health Screening® across select grade levels. The initiative provided important insights into how schools can strengthen systems of support, identify students who may otherwise go unnoticed, and create earlier pathways to care.
Read the full Baltimore County Schools case study here.
Why Schools Are Investing in School Mental Health Screening Programs
The latest youth mental health statistics in schools continue to reinforce the need for earlier identification and intervention:
- 1 in 3 students carry persistent sadness or hopelessness
- 1 in 4 students have no trusted adult in their life
- 1 in 6 students made a suicide plan in the past year
For many educators, these numbers reflect what they’re already seeing every day in schools: students carrying emotional burdens that may not always be visible in the classroom.
The Baltimore initiative reinforced an important truth for districts nationwide: effective adolescent health screening is not just about identifying students in crisis. It’s about creating equitable opportunities for all students to be seen, heard, and supported earlier.
How a Behavioral Health Screening Tool for Schools Supports Earlier Identification
Most schools already have behavioral teams, counselors, intervention programs, and referral systems in place. But traditional identification methods often rely heavily on visible behaviors, meaning quieter students can remain under the radar.
That’s where comprehensive youth risk assessment tools can make a meaningful difference.
Baltimore County Public Schools implemented Rising Together Schoolwide Mental Health Screening® to strengthen, not replace, existing student support systems by helping schools:
- Identify students earlier
- Improve intervention pathways
- Expand equity in access to care
- Build stronger family engagement
- Better understand the full picture of student wellbeing
The program combines:
- Evidence-based adolescent health screening
- Suicide risk screening for adolescents
- Teen substance use screening
- Family communication tools
- Staff implementation support
- Referral workflows and actionable reporting
Reaching Students Who May Otherwise Go Unnoticed Through Trauma-Responsive Screening Technology
One of the most meaningful insights from the Baltimore initiative was the ability to identify students who may not outwardly show signs of distress.
Looking Beyond Visible Warning Signs
Educators involved in the initiative shared that schoolwide screening helped uncover needs among students who had never previously sought support or drawn concern through traditional referral pathways.
As one participant reflected, some students had “flown under the radar” simply because they were quieter and less likely to ask for help directly.
The screening process helped schools move beyond assumptions and create more equitable pathways to support for students navigating anxiety, depression, isolation, substance use, or broader life stressors.
Building Trust Through Student-Centered Screening Experiences
The initiative also reinforced the idea that student mental health cannot be separated from the broader social and emotional realities students face every day.
Educators highlighted challenges, including:
- Food insecurity
- Housing instability
- Caregiving responsibilities
- Community stressors
These realities further underscore the need for comprehensive adolescent health screening and coordinated intervention systems in schools today.
How School Health Screening Technology Turns Insights Into Action
Identifying need is only the first step.
Baltimore County’s experience reinforced the idea that successful school mental health screening requires strong systems, referral pathways, staffing coordination, and community partnerships established before screening begins.
Once students were identified for support, school teams worked quickly to:
- Conduct follow-up conversations
- Strengthen trusted adult connections
- Connect students to interventions and behavioral health resources
- Explore additional support programming
For students identified as needing additional support, approaches such as motivational interviewing can help trusted adults facilitate meaningful conversations, strengthen engagement, and encourage help-seeking behaviors.
The initiative also surfaced important implementation lessons around timing, communication, confidentiality, accessibility supports, and intervention capacity all of which are explored further in the full case study.
What Baltimore Schools Learned About Building a Stronger Youth Wellbeing Platform
Baltimore County educators identified several key themes that may help other districts considering adolescent health screening programs:
Communication Must Be Clear and Ongoing
Students, families, staff, and care providers all benefit from transparent communication around confidentiality, logistics, and support pathways.
Frontline Staff Should Help Shape Implementation
Counselors, social workers, teachers, and school staff bring critical operational insight and firsthand understanding of student realities.
Timing Matters
Earlier implementation in the school year creates more opportunity for intervention, relationship-building, and continuity of care.
Screening Must Be Paired With Action
Successful programs require strong referral pathways, staffing coordination, accessible resources, and sustainable intervention systems.
Beyond Screening: Creating a Comprehensive Youth Wellbeing Platform
Baltimore County Public Schools’ experience demonstrated that schoolwide mental health screening is about far more than collecting student well-being data.
It’s about:
- Creating earlier pathways to care
- Identifying hidden struggles
- Strengthening trusted relationships
- Expanding equity in access to support
- Building stronger systems around every student
At Possibilities for Change, that’s the foundation of Rising Together Schoolwide Mental Health Screening®.
Developed alongside educators, clinicians, behavioral health professionals, and community partners, Rising Together helps schools identify student needs earlier and respond more effectively through evidence-based screening, implementation guidance, family engagement tools, referral workflows, and actionable reporting.
Unlike a standalone behavioral health screening tool for schools, Rising Together combines evidence-based screening, trauma-responsive screening technology, family engagement resources, and implementation support into a comprehensive youth wellbeing platform. The program helps schools move beyond identification alone and toward earlier intervention, stronger student connections, and measurable outcomes.
About the Author
Jennifer Salerno, DNP, CPNP, FAANP, is the Founder and CEO of Possibilities for Change and a nationally recognized clinician, researcher, and social entrepreneur. A passionate clinician, visionary leader, and devoted parent, Dr. Jen is on a mission to change the odds for at-risk youth by blending evidence-based clinical practice with research, radical partnership, and unwavering empathy. With more than 30 years of experience in pediatric care, adolescent development, and school-based health services, she developed RAAPS (Rapid Adolescent Prevention Screening) at the University of Michigan and launched Possibilities for Change to scale that methodology nationally — supported by trauma-responsive technology and a comprehensive approach to youth wellbeing. As a mother of two, Dr. Jen brings both professional expertise and personal commitment to every aspect of this work.