Transforming Educational Outcomes for Multi-System Youth

Name of Project 

Transforming Educational Outcomes for Multi-System Youth 

Project Website 

www.brooklinecenter.org/multisystemyouthproject 

Project Purpose (49/50) 

Massachusetts ranks among the five worst states for outcomes for DCF-involved youth. This project will improve educational success through targeted mental health interventions delivered in schools and in partnership with community agencies and state systems—helping students stay in school and graduate, and building a scalable model for statewide impact. 

Justification Statement (499/500) 

Massachusetts is among the five worst states in the country for outcomes for youth involved with DCF. These students face enormous barriers in school: they are far more likely to experience school mobility, chronic absenteeism, academic failure, and disciplinary exclusion—and far less likely to graduate. 

The scope of the challenge is significant: 

• In 2022, 43,457 children, youth, and young adults were involved with DCF, including 13,045 in foster care—enough to fill 567 classrooms across the Commonwealth. 

• 72% of youth involved with the Department of Youth Services (DYS) have current or past involvement with DCF, underscoring the link between disrupted school experiences and later justice system involvement. 

• Nationally, 50–75% of the 2 million youth who encounter the juvenile justice system meet criteria for a mental health disorder, and 40–80% of incarcerated juveniles have at least one diagnosable mental health condition. 

• Students in foster care perform up to 6.5 times worse than their peers on key indicators including attendance, school mobility, dropout rates, discipline, grade retention, MCAS scores, and graduation. 

• Only 58% of Massachusetts foster youth graduate high school in four years—the lowest on-time graduation rate of any student group tracked by the state, including students experiencing homelessness, those with disabilities, and English learners. 

Despite this need, support is scarce. Data show that additional in-school support can make a significant difference, yet between 2013 and 2021, only a single-digit percentage of Massachusetts foster youth received K–12 school support services, compared to 35–45% nationally.  

Mental health is a key driver of the school challenges faced by these young people. In fact, youth who have experienced abuse or neglect are three to four times more likely to develop psychosis than those without this exposure. DCF-involved youth face a very high risk of early psychosis—yet school and agency staff often lack the training needed to identify and respond to signs and symptoms. To be effective, staff need clinical consultation and skill development to connect youth to appropriate care early. 

There is also a strong economic case for action. Placing a youth in DYS custody costs over $100,000 per year in Massachusetts, covering housing, supervision, education, clinical care, and reentry support. Based on our deep expertise in school-based mental health support, we believe our intensive intervention can deliver the same services more effectively and at a fraction of the cost, in a developmentally appropriate school setting. This approach is not only more humane, but also more effective and cost-efficient—and keeps young people connected to school and community. 

Grounded in our 20-year track record of success delivering innovative school-based mental health support, The Brookline Center will lead a comprehensive initiative to understand and support the academic challenges and mental health needs of DCF-involved children and youth. The project will generate knowledge and reporting about the complex needs of this population and will design, test, and share school-based interventions. In addition to improving outcomes for individual youth, this work will create a scalable model for statewide and national implementation—and provide guidance for future state and federal policy. 

List any entities or organizations partnering or supporting the project (231/250) 

This initiative is led by The Brookline Center for Community Mental Health, including contributions from its BRYT, CEDAR, and MPATH programs, which bring deep experience in school-based mental health, youth psychosis, and multi-system youth support. 

Framingham Public Schools, including Framingham High School, will serve as the pilot site and provide critical operational partnership to develop and test effective in-school supports. 

The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families will support referrals and coordination, helping to ensure services reach the youth most in need. 

Citizens for Juvenile Justice will contribute policy analysis and technical assistance, strengthening the initiative’s alignment with broader juvenile justice reform efforts. 

The Boston University School of Social Work will serve as the evaluation partner, contributing expertise in research design, data analysis, and systems-level learning. 

Federation for Children with Special Needs, Health Law Advocates, and the Parent/Professional Advocacy League (PPAL) will serve as advisory partners, bringing the perspectives of families, education rights, and youth advocates. 

Wayside Youth & Family Support Network will provide advisory support grounded in clinical practice and community-based care. 

Together, these partners offer complementary strengths in mental health, education, youth justice, family advocacy, and public systems. Their collaboration ensures the initiative is youth-centered, clinically sound, operationally feasible, and poised to influence policy and practice across Massachusetts. This partnership model reflects the cross-system coordination required to transform outcomes for DCF-involved youth and build scalable solutions for long-term impact. 

Please tell us how this project meets the eligibility requirements of the subcommittee and account. (1366/2000) 

The Transforming Educational Outcomes for Multi-System Youth project is fully eligible for Congressionally Directed Spending through the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, under the Elementary and Secondary Education Innovation and Improvement account. The Brookline Center for Community Mental Health, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a long history of effective partnerships with schools and public systems, has a proven record of delivering innovative, school-based mental health programs and responsibly stewarding public funds. 

Massachusetts ranks among the five worst states for outcomes for DCF-involved youth. These students face extraordinary educational barriers and are far less likely than their peers to graduate. This project directly addresses those disparities through school-based innovation. Led by the Brookline Center, it will implement targeted mental health interventions in schools, in partnership with community agencies and state systems. By helping students stay in school, succeed academically, and graduate, the project will improve educational outcomes and build a scalable model for statewide impact. 

Part I: The Compass School Pilot 

The Compass pilot, launched in 2025 by the Brookline Center’s BRYT program in partnership with Framingham Public Schools and Citizens for Juvenile Justice, addresses the urgent question: What would it look like for schools to meaningfully support DCF-involved students—and how can we help them do it? 

Schools play a pivotal, though often unexamined, role in the lives of DCF-involved youth. As mandated reporters, educators are frequent initiators of DCF involvement. Yet schools often lack awareness of the long-term impact of that involvement—and the opportunity they have to provide stability and support. 

Compass aims to develop a comprehensive school-based support model for youth involved with DCF, many of whom face intersecting challenges of trauma, housing instability, mental health conditions, and school disengagement. These students often fall through the cracks in traditional education and mental health systems. Services are delivered in-school through an embedded multidisciplinary team, which includes licensed clinicians, academic coordinators, and care managers working together with students, families, and public agency partners. Compass provides an intensive blend of trauma-informed care, therapeutic support, academic coordination, and coaching. 

Compass builds on BRYT’s 20 years of experience supporting students with serious mental health challenges in school settings. Unlike traditional BRYT programs, which are short-term and serve 40–60 students annually, Compass is a more intensive, longer-term model designed for a smaller group of students with deeper, more complex needs. 

The pilot supports DCF-involved youth returning from juvenile detention or at risk of justice involvement. These students carry profound trauma—from family disruption, out-of-home placement, and systemic instability. Compass offers them something rare: consistent care, therapeutic support, and trusted relationships with adults. 

Compass is both a direct service program and a learning initiative. Its goals are twofold: 

1. To design and test an effective school-based model specifically for DCF-involved youth that can be expanded statewide. 

1. To adapt BRYT’s proven model so schools across Massachusetts can better serve DCF-involved students, even without a dedicated Compass program. 

Only 58% of Massachusetts foster youth graduate high school in four years—the lowest on-time graduation rate of any student group tracked by the state, including students experiencing homelessness, those with disabilities, and English learners. For students served by Compass, staying connected to school and making steady progress—academically, emotionally, and developmentally—is a transformational achievement.  

These are young people who experience hopelessness, which severely undermines students’ ability to succeed in school. When students feel hopeless, they often struggle to find motivation or believe that their efforts will lead to positive outcomes, making it difficult to set goals or persist through challenges. This mindset directly impacts academic performance, leading to lower grades, poor test results, and difficulty concentrating or completing tasks. Hopelessness is also closely linked to increased absenteeism and a higher risk of dropping out, as students disengage from school altogether. Emotionally, hopeless students are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts, and may exhibit behavioral issues such as withdrawal or acting out—further increasing the risk of academic failure and disciplinary exclusion. 

Compass aims to change this trajectory.

Part II: Mapping the Mental Health Needs of DCF-Involved Youth

Part two of the project will generate a comprehensive understanding of the mental health needs of DCF-involved youth in Massachusetts, with a focus on how schools, community agencies, and state systems can better respond.  

In partnership with social science researchers, The Brookline Center will lead quantitative and qualitative research, including data analysis in partnership with schools, DCF, and other child-serving systems, as well as interviews and focus groups with students, families, educators, clinicians, and agency staff. Special attention will be paid to Massachusetts Gateway Cities, where many DCF-involved youth are concentrated and where schools often face the greatest resource and capacity challenges.  

The project will host cross-sector convenings to surface system-level insights, build shared understanding, and identify barriers to effective care. Findings will be synthesized into accessible reports and policy briefs to inform statewide strategy and guide practice improvements. 

III. Developing Psychosis-Informed Practice Across Schools and Systems 

A central component of this initiative is the development of psychosis-informed practice across schools and statewide systems that serve multi-system youth. This work will be led by the Brookline Center’s Massachusetts Psychosis Access and Triage Hub (M-PATH) and the CEDAR Clinic (Center for Early Detection, Assessment, and Response to Risk), two in-house teams with deep expertise in early psychosis identification, assessment, and coordinated care. 

A significant number of DCF-involved youth are either at clinical high risk for psychosis or already experiencing early symptoms. These young people often face diagnostic complexity, layered trauma, and fragmented supports. Without timely and developmentally appropriate intervention, they are at risk for school disengagement, academic failure, unstable placements, and long-term disability. Educational success for these students depends on adults around them recognizing what’s happening and responding with the right support at the right time. 

Yet most professionals in schools and state systems lack training in how to recognize, understand, or respond to early psychosis. This project addresses that gap directly by equipping educators, caseworkers, and residential providers with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to support youth experiencing early symptoms—without waiting until crises escalate. 

M-PATH is a statewide initiative designed to expand access to early psychosis care, reduce the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), and improve long-term outcomes. Staffed by psychologists, counselors, family partners, and peer mentors, M-PATH offers a live warm line that provides real-time consultation, information, and facilitated referrals to clinical high risk (CHR) and first episode psychosis (FEP) services. M-PATH developed and delivers the principles of psychosis-informed care, a training framework that helps non-specialists build the skills to respond effectively and confidently to emerging symptoms. 

CEDAR, also a Brookline Center program, specializes in early intervention for young people at clinical high risk for psychosis. CEDAR’s coaching model uses a recovery-oriented, strengths-based approach to help students re-engage academically, strengthen executive functioning, and build confidence and structure in their daily lives. This approach is especially well-suited to DCF-involved students who often face overlapping challenges related to trauma, mental health, and school disruption. CEDAR will support Compass in developing a customized coaching component for DCF-involved students. 

The project’s two-pronged strategy includes: 

Local implementation through Compass pilot sites: M-PATH and CEDAR will provide training in psychosis-informed care to school and community staff, embed tools for early identification, and support development of school-based academic coaching tailored to students experiencing early symptoms of serious mental illness. These efforts will strengthen the capacity of schools to keep vulnerable students engaged in learning and on track for graduation. 

Statewide expansion through targeted outreach to DCF regional offices and intensive residential treatment programs: M-PATH has already laid the groundwork through repeated engagement with DCF leadership and providers across Massachusetts, who have expressed strong interest in receiving training, consultation, and referral support for the many youth in their care experiencing or at clinical high risk for early psychosis. This statewide effort will enhance the ability of residential and child welfare systems to provide earlier, more coordinated mental health support—helping stabilize placements, reduce educational disruption, and connect students to care that keeps them in school. 

This combined approach will significantly expand statewide capacity to support DCF-involved students. By embedding psychosis-informed practice across both schools and state agencies, this project will reduce dropout risk, increase graduation rates, and improve educational trajectories for these deeply underserved students.