1
D626: Public Health Advocacy and Policy
Task 3: Advocacy Plan, Communication Plan, Dissemination Plan
, 2
A: Policy and Policy Change
Policy 2: Mental Health Support and Prevention Program for Teenagers.
The chosen original framework concentrates on a comprehensive structure for mandatory
school screening procedures and professional personnel but my recommended change will aim at
establishing a national initiative, backed by federal funds, for organizing mental health clubs and
peer counseling groups in all middle and high schools. This particular recommendation will aim
at filling existing data gaps related to local data, such as the Warren County Community Health
Improvement Plan, wherein adolescent anxiety, stress, and behavioral health problems rank the
highest in the list of local public health priorities (Warren County Public Health Department,
2025). Having school-based peer programs will expand the ability to intervene at an early stage
since the students will be trained on how to de-stigmatize issues relating to mental well-being,
identify symptoms in their peers, and provide quick referral to professionals (NAMI, 2025). The
proposed policy change will address the operational challenges that have historically undermined
school-based well-being programs, namely conflicting academic requirements, provider
shortages, and student mistrust of official interventions (Langley et al., 2010).
B1: Priority Population
The priority population for this advocacy plan consists of the members of the local boards
of education from the various public-school districts within Warren County in New York,
including Glens Falls City School District and Queensbury Union Free School District. Members
of the local boards of education have legal power to run the school districts, allocate budgets to
students' activities, and permit inclusion of new mental health clubs led by peers as part of the
student organizations curriculum.
B1a: Priority Population Justification
The local boards of education are the priority population because they have immediate
access to the power of allocating budget and administering schools; therefore, they can make
rapid structural policy changes. The state and federal policymakers control the allocation of
resources at a macro level but it is the local boards that can overcome the first major
implementation obstacle, namely resistance by institutions for fear of liabilities and other
educational concerns (Langley et al., 2010). Since local public health records have confirmed
that there is a need for emergency actions locally in Warren County due counter the escalating
mental stress among adolescents, focusing on these committees will avoid the considerable delay
D626: Public Health Advocacy and Policy
Task 3: Advocacy Plan, Communication Plan, Dissemination Plan
, 2
A: Policy and Policy Change
Policy 2: Mental Health Support and Prevention Program for Teenagers.
The chosen original framework concentrates on a comprehensive structure for mandatory
school screening procedures and professional personnel but my recommended change will aim at
establishing a national initiative, backed by federal funds, for organizing mental health clubs and
peer counseling groups in all middle and high schools. This particular recommendation will aim
at filling existing data gaps related to local data, such as the Warren County Community Health
Improvement Plan, wherein adolescent anxiety, stress, and behavioral health problems rank the
highest in the list of local public health priorities (Warren County Public Health Department,
2025). Having school-based peer programs will expand the ability to intervene at an early stage
since the students will be trained on how to de-stigmatize issues relating to mental well-being,
identify symptoms in their peers, and provide quick referral to professionals (NAMI, 2025). The
proposed policy change will address the operational challenges that have historically undermined
school-based well-being programs, namely conflicting academic requirements, provider
shortages, and student mistrust of official interventions (Langley et al., 2010).
B1: Priority Population
The priority population for this advocacy plan consists of the members of the local boards
of education from the various public-school districts within Warren County in New York,
including Glens Falls City School District and Queensbury Union Free School District. Members
of the local boards of education have legal power to run the school districts, allocate budgets to
students' activities, and permit inclusion of new mental health clubs led by peers as part of the
student organizations curriculum.
B1a: Priority Population Justification
The local boards of education are the priority population because they have immediate
access to the power of allocating budget and administering schools; therefore, they can make
rapid structural policy changes. The state and federal policymakers control the allocation of
resources at a macro level but it is the local boards that can overcome the first major
implementation obstacle, namely resistance by institutions for fear of liabilities and other
educational concerns (Langley et al., 2010). Since local public health records have confirmed
that there is a need for emergency actions locally in Warren County due counter the escalating
mental stress among adolescents, focusing on these committees will avoid the considerable delay
