School-Based Mental Health and Crisis Care for Students.

The pediatric mental health crisis necessitates innovative, community-integrated solutions to overcome barriers to care and reduce reliance on emergency departments. This article details the Northwell School Mental Health Program, a collaborative Hub-and-spoke model operating across 400 schools in New York. Grounded in a Multi-Tiered System of Supports framework, the program provides a continuum of care ranging from universal mental health literacy to specialized crisis intervention. A centralized Virtual Crisis Hub triages acute psychiatric presentations, facilitating immediate clinical guidance and rapid access to community-based Behavioral Health Centers. These centers offer same-day crisis stabilization and short-term bridging care.