Need Support, No Problem – Increasing Connectivity with Implementation Supports within an Interactive Systems Framework

Presenters

• Ashley J. Salmon, Georgia State UniversityFollow
• Isis Nelson-Graham, Georgia State UniversityFollow
• Layla Fitzgerald, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental DisabilitiesFollow

First Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

MPH

Year First Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

2018

First Presenter's Field of Study

Public Health - Biostatistics

Institution Where First Presenter Received Highest Degree

Georgia State University

First Presenter's Institution

Georgia State University

First Presenter's Brief Bio and Description of Credentials for This Presentation

Ms. Salmon is an experienced behavioral health researcher with expertise in quantitative analyses. In her current role as a research associate for the Georgia Apex Program, she supports the program’s research and evaluation efforts to ensure data quality control at the intersection of state-funded programming deliverables and sustainable systems change. She also assists in the analysis and communication of project findings. Ms. Salmon has 8+ years of experience in complex project management, specifically in the management and analysis of data collected from robust, multi-site projects. She also has strong expertise in database design and management using statistical software and is highly experienced in conducting non-parametric, psychometric, and quality control analyses. Her work has resulted in co-authorship on many peer-reviewed publications and numerous presentations at international, national, and regional conferences.

Second Presenter's Institution

Georgia State University

Second Presenter’s Email Address

inelsongraham@gsu.edu

Second Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

Ed.S

Year Second Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

2013

Second Presenter's Field of Study

School Psychology

Institution Where Second Presenter Received Highest Degree

Loyola University Chicago

Second Presenter's Brief Bio and Description of Credentials for This Presentation

Ms. Nelson-Graham is an experienced school psychologist and behavioral health researcher. She has developed, implemented, and managed social-emotional learning programs for pre-K-12th grade students in Georgia. In her current roles as a senior research associate and the technical assistance lead for the Georgia Apex Program, she leverages her professional experiences and expertise in school-based mental health, school climate, multi-tiered system of support, and student exceptionalities to support community behavioral health clinicians providing school-based services across the state. Other areas of focus include program implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and aligning systems of care to support youth and young adults.  Additionally, she co-facilitates the Mindworks GA school-based mental health workgroup, which convenes dozens of state and non-governmental child and family serving agencies who support communities' behavioral health needs.

Third Presenter's Institution

Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities

Third Presenter’s Email Address

layla.fitzgerald@dbhdd.ga.gov

Third Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

M.A.

Year Third Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

2005

Third Presenter's Field of Study

Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling

Institution Where Third Presenter Received Highest Degree

Jackson State University

Third Presenter's Brief Bio and Description of Credentials for This Presentation

Ms. Fitzgerald is the Director of Community Programs for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities - Office of Children, Young Adults & Families, and the Mental Health Liaison for the GA Department of Education. Layla oversees 35+ mental health providers that offer GA APEX school based mental health program, Mental Health Resiliency Clubhouses after-school and summer programs as well as several nonprofit agencies of DBHDD’s System of Care, such as NAMI, VOX ATL, Silence the Shame, Mental Health America of GA, VOICES for GA’s Childrens and others. She also connects youth, family, and schools to the DBHDD continuum of care. Layla brings a blend of leadership and programmatic experience that includes more than 20 years in child advocacy, program/project implementation and management related to youth development, providing direct services and supports, and engaging with community collaboratives.

Location

Verelst

Document Type

Individual Presentation

Primary Strand

Mental Health

Relevance to Primary Strand

Adopting school-based mental health (SBMH) programs increases access to services for school-aged youth. Providing these services in schools can positively impact classroom instruction and student outcomes including academic performance, discipline referrals, and school climate (DiGirolamo et al., 2021; Eagle et al., 2014). However, providing mental health services in schools can be complex and often comes with many challenges for school staff, mental health providers and their embedded clinicians. Georgia Apex is a SBMH program designed and funded by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities’ (DBHDD) Office of Children, Young Adults, and Families to reduce barriers students and families face when trying to access mental health services and supports. This is achieved by fully integrating community mental health clinicians into public K-12 schools throughout the state and then identifying, referring, and treating students with behavioral, emotional, or mental health needs in school settings using evidence-based practices. The Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health and Wellbeing at Georgia State University supports Georgia Apex through program evaluation for quality assurance and improvements as well as technical assistance for the mental health providers involved. Recognizing teachers' crucial role, the program fosters collaborative relationships between these Apex-funded providers, school staff, students, and caregivers, thereby empowering educators to identify and support students collaboratively with these clinicians.

Alignment with School Improvement Plan Topics

Professional Capacity

Brief Program Description

The Georgia Apex Program (Apex) provides multitiered mental health services to K-12 students. It leverages community-school partnerships, actively involves school staff, and fully integrates clinicians to deliver mental health services in schools. This presentation details some mechanisms to recruit and retain mental health professionals, develop protocols for service delivery, and the collaboration between providers, students and their caregivers. Participants will learn about Apex within an ISF and its influence on school climate. Furthermore, participants will learn specific mechanisms that can be utilized to sustain delivery of mental health services in school settings.

Summary

This presentation will detail a collaborative state-wide initiative designed to bring community mental health clinicians into public K-12 schools: the Georgia Apex Program (Apex). Presenters will delve into how Apex directly supports a positive school climate through its engagement within an Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF).

Apex, a school-based mental health (SBMH) program created and funded by the Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities, is rooted in evidence-based theories and models and aligns with Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Its primary goals are early detection of student mental health needs, improved access to mental health services, and increased coordination between community providers and local schools/school districts in their service areas. All students attending Apex schools have access to Tier 1 services (universal prevention). Additionally, community mental health providers are strategically integrated within Georgia Apex school settings to provide Tier 2 early interventions (e.g., group therapy) and Tier 3 therapeutic interventions (e.g., CBT) to youth experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis, especially to students and families who might not otherwise seek help due to a variety of barriers. This presentation will showcase how increasing access to evidence-based strategies, especially within Tier 2 and Tier 3, contributes to fostering a healthy school climate.

Since its inception in 2015, Apex has received buy-in from school administrators, school staff, service providers, families, and communities from across the state. This essential buy-in is at the core of the program's success along with mutual trust and a collaborative approach between these core stakeholder groups. Currently, 1 in 3 Georgia schools participate in Apex, and last year 87% of parents surveyed reported improvement in access to needed care for their child (Georgia Apex, 2025). This presentation will underscore the importance of these partnerships within an ISF. It will provide mechanisms for navigating these critical relationships to effectively integrate SBMH within the school climate and sustain SBMH programming over time. It will specifically highlight the need for a variety of implementation supports, as well as the continuous collaboration with school staff and parents/caregivers, to raise awareness about the resources available in their schools and communities.

Evidence

The Georgia Apex Program (Apex) is grounded in an evidence-based framework, the Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS), which directly aligns with and supports Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in education. Extensive research supports MTSS for addressing students' diverse needs, ensuring a tiered intervention system that is responsive and effective. Further, Apex utilizes evidence-based strategies for successfully implementing a school-based mental health program (i.e., key stakeholder buy-in, mutually beneficial collaborative partnerships, ongoing communication between schools and providers, etc.). Apex therapists work with school staff to coordinate and deliver evidence-based interventions, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Mindfulness, and Play Therapy. Moreover, quantitative and qualitative programmatic data collected from Apex schools, provider organizations, and parents/caregivers over the past 6 years have been used to evaluate the Apex Program and study the challenges and successes of its implementation (i.e., using monthly and yearly surveys, stakeholder focus groups, interviews, advisory council meetings, etc.). The implementation of Apex is assessed by examining: its adoption (partnership development); installation (embeddedness); factors influencing implementation (fit, barriers, facilitators, feasibility); and its acceptability among schools, providers, and parents (satisfaction). The sustainability of the Apex service delivery model is contingent upon a functioning ISF to recruit and retain a variety of mental health supports, refer students to needed services utilizing evidence-based practices at all tiered supports, and ultimately maintain effective relationships with implementation supports within the SBMH ecosystem. These and other findings will be shared in the proposed presentation.

Learning Objective 1

Participants will be able to describe the key components of the Georgia Apex Program that can contribute to incorporating a successful school-based mental health (SBMH) program into the school climate.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be able to identify several effective approaches to obtain key stakeholder buy-in and to establish formal collaborative partnerships for fully integrating mental health clinicians in school settings.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will be able to describe at least 3 strategies for implementing and sustaining a SBMH service delivery model within an ISF, specifically related to implementation supports.

Start Date

6-1-2026 2:15 PM

End Date

6-1-2026 3:15 PM

Recommended Citation

Salmon, Ashley J.; Nelson-Graham, Isis; and Fitzgerald, Layla, "Need Support, No Problem – Increasing Connectivity with Implementation Supports within an Interactive Systems Framework" (2026). Southeast Conference on School Climate. 21.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/secsc/2026/2026/21

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.