Mental health is a state of emotional, psychological, and social well-being in which individual potential is realized. When an individual is experiencing positive mental health, they can ably cope with normal life stressors, work productively, and contribute to the community (CHIP).

Mental health disorders can affect both classroom learning and social interactions, two key factors to student success. Poor mental health negatively affects students’ energy level, concentration, and motivation, which in turn affects their classroom learning. Mental health can also affect the developing capacity of students to form close relationships, manage and express emotions, explore the environment, and learn (Zero to Three, 2016).

Mental health conditions often first appear in youth and young adults, with 50% of all conditions beginning by age 14, and 75% by age 24. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents have reported increases in behaviors such as social withdrawal, self-isolation, and lethargy, and increases in anxiety and depression in their children, which is negatively impacting their learning and grades (McKinsey, DOE).

The federal government plays a limited role in education. On average, federal funding makes up about 8% of school funding (Education Data Initiative). The rest is up to state and local funding, which varies widely by state. Philanthropy can help fill this gap through supporting the integration of mental health education, resources and capacity building for schools, teachers, coaches, other staff and families, and after school and extracurricular programs to enable students to build life skills and resilience.

Mental health and addiction are intrinsically linked to outcomes across a host of philanthropic causes that have long been the focus of many individual and institutional funders. For example, we know that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and parental depression affect early childhood development and school success; that undiagnosed and untreated mental health disorders in youth are linked to homelessness, unemployment and incarceration; that young people in foster care and people in prison disproportionately experience mental health disorders and addiction; and that the current opioid epidemic is ravaging families and communities across the country (CHIP).

Youth already spend most of their time in schools, so it is important for schools to provide students with access to mental health services and supports from a young age. Youth are almost as likely to receive mental health services in an education setting as they are to receive treatment from a specialty mental health provider (2020). Supporting students’ social, emotional, and behavioral development at early ages may mitigate the need for long-term services and supports (Yoshikawa et al. 2013; Bierman et al., 2018) (DOE).

With the proper resources, schools can effectively provide a safe and trusted environment for children and families, promote social and emotional learning, provide mental health education, increase access to services for students and families in need, and encourage the early development of emotional wellbeing and resilience. Schools can provide students with a supportive school culture, training, education, and skills development, access to effective mental health and substance use disorder care, and comprehensive wraparound supports for students and families.

While schools have an important role in supporting youth mental health, other community and youth serving programs can be both protective in preventing mental health issues and provide opportunities to screen, detect, and support youth with challenges. Such programs include after-school programs, church and other youth groups, mentorship programs, sports and other extracurricular activities, as well as parent empowerment and skills development programs. Philanthropy can support these programs to increase their capacity to support youth mental health.

SEL is an integral part of education and human development. Broadly, SEL refers to the process through which individuals learn and apply a set of social, emotional, and related skills, and attitudes, behaviors, and values that help direct their thoughts, feelings, and actions in ways that enable them to succeed in school, work, and life.

SEL can be applied to a variety of developmental domains and focuses. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) addresses five broad and interrelated components of SEL: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. (CASEL)

The scope and focus of SEL also vary, from focusing on one set of skills (e.g., recognizing and expressing emotions), to broader cognitive regulation and executive functioning skills (e.g., the mental processes required to focus, plan, and control behavioral responses in service of a goal). (Easel Lab at Harvard)

The evidence-based benefits of SEL are vast. SEL leads to beneficial outcomes related to social and emotional skills (e.g., reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety), academic performance and classroom behaviors, and overall lifetime outcomes. (CASEL)

Further, research from The Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis has also shown that the average return on investment for SEL evidence-based programs is 11 to 1, meaning for every dollar invested there is an $11 return.