In 2010, 2011 and 2012 Dr. Duffy and Mrs. Ali were charged with completing and then updating a thorough SWOT needs assessment. The following is a summary of theses findings: Strengths: After having our plan to develop a Family Support Center rejected in the past, we now have support from administration to develop a rudimentary framework of a school-based mental health program. We are starting this process in 2011-2012 with the big picture goal of having a fully functional program being in place by 2013-2014. Weaknesses: We found that there were many students who were not able to access needed services and only about 16% of students who were referred for treatment in a community-based agency followed through and received treatment. Of those families who did receive treatment, only 3% continued to receive ongoing care 10 weeks post referral. Opportunities: We learned from the literature review; interviews with students and families; and from studies of existing school-based mental health programs that had been implemented in other parts of the country that interagency / integrated systems of care were likely to result in better outcomes for our students than the piecemeal systems of care, as currently existed in the building. These national "exemplar" programs promised to increase the rates of treatment follow through that had plagued our initial efforts of referring students out and has been identified as our primary target for intervention. Threats: We identified financial sustainability, administrative turnover, SST staff turnover, district politics, structural barriers resulting from interactions between large bureaucracies (BPS, NYSED, NYSOMH, Agency Providers) as the primary threats to success.

Our next goal was to identify a set of core principles, driven by empirical research and national findings. After this had been accomplished, we agreed to develop a flow chart that would allow the SST psychologist to evaluate the success of each SST referral on the basis of both treatment follow through and adherence to seven aspirational principles: Was there an emphasis on early identification? Was there full integration with the community and the community's resources? Have we placed students and their families at the center of service decisions? Are we providing services that are culturally competent? Have we focused on promoting school attendance and academic success? Are the services and supports we have provided evidence-based practices? Did the student and their family have access to a full array of mental health services on site at International Prep?

Develop and implement the Family Support Center during the 2014-2015 school year. Including thorough evaluation and consideration of: Residence: does the student have unmet basic needs? Safety: is the child thought to be a threat to self or others? Family: are there serious, unmet needs in the family? Social: how does the family interact with the student and how does the student interact with peers? Emotional: are there behavior problems in the home, school or community? Educational: is the child currently successful at school? Legal: is the student involved in the legal system? Medical: is the student receiving the medical care they need?