Introduction: Youth Mental Health—The Crisis of Our Time • Depression and anxiety rates among youth have skyrocketed (e.g., 42% spike in Ohio 2016–2020 ). • Schools are often the only point of access to mental health support for young people. • Yet traditional “referral by teacher observation” misses many kids suffering silently. ⸻ The Opportunity: Universal Screening • Universal Mental Health Screening (UMHS) identifies needs across all students—not just those showing outward distress. • Recommended by the U.S. Department of Education. • Early detection → Early intervention → Better long-term outcomes. ⸻ Case Study 1: King County, WA (“Check Yourself” SBIRT Model)  • Focused on Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT). • Embedded into school health workflows. • Challenges: High volume of students identified; needed better systems to support follow-up. ⸻ Case Study 2: Brandon, Ohio  • Built a district-wide universal screening model. • Phased rollout: starting small, scaling big. • Key success factors: • Buy-in from leadership and staff. • Clear, compassionate response plans. • Partner engagement for intervention capacity. ⸻ Why Universal Screening Beats Targeted Screening • Targeted screening (by teacher or counselor judgment) leads to bias and missed students. • Universal screening normalizes mental health as part of overall student wellbeing. ⸻ The Missing Link: Connection to Care • Identifying needs is only step one. • Without care coordination, schools risk overwhelming staff or letting identified students fall through the cracks. • Care Hub: An integrated digital platform to: • Manage referrals easily • Communicate with families • Track service outcomes • Reduce admin burden on counselors and staff ⸻ Policy and Practice Recommendations • Fund both screening AND referral infrastructure. • Build care navigation partnerships early. • Prioritize scalable tech that preserves empathy and privacy. • Plan for sustainability (staff turnover, funding changes). ⸻ Audience Takeaways • Proven frameworks for implementing UMHS. • Lessons learned from large-scale deployments. • Tools to ease care connection, not just identification. • Policy arguments to support sustainable mental health infrastructure in schools.