Ripple Effect Conversation Guide

The Ripple Effect:
A Conversation Guide For The Workplace
The Ripple Effect data from The Kids Mental Health Foundation clearly shows that some parents
are making job decisions based on their children’s mental health. In order to best support parents
and caregivers in your organization, consider hosting an open discussion on the topic. Whether
you have an established Employee Resource Group focused on families or you have never
brought your caregivers together before, you can use this guide to start the conversation.
Before the session, make sure to prepare the following:

• Establish 2-3 leaders from within the organization to speak about this topic. Look for
leaders who don’t typically take on extra unpaid labor in the workplace, or determine
a way to compensate them if possible.
• Review the family-focused benefits you already offer, and bring reminder communications
into the session. Many parents or caregivers may not realize they have access to these
benefits, and reminders never hurt!
• Communicate that the session will be confidential. This will help parents open up about
their real concerns.
• Review the Do’s and don’ts of talking about child mental health, to ensure that you are
breaking — rather than reinforcing — stigmas with your words.
• Consider a short survey before or during the session to get a baseline for how your
organization’s caregivers are doing. This could include questions about employee
engagement, perception or needs as caregivers.
During the session, follow these tips and conversation prompts:

• Remind the group about confidentiality of what’s discussed.
• Allow parents and caregivers to introduce themselves; in the entire group for sessions
with fewer than 30 participants, or for sessions with more than 30 attendees, break them
into small groups.
• If putting caregivers into small groups, segment them according to their oldest child’s
age and use the following guidelines:
• Baby (ages 0-2) • Middle School (ages 11-14)
• Preschool (ages 3-5) • High School (ages 15-18)
• Elementary School (ages 6-10) • College/Adult (ages 18+)

#KidsMentalHealthFoundation
KidsMentalHealthFoundation.org
Conversation Prompts:
After the session, here are considerations for follow-up:
• Give your employees a “next step” or resource they can contact afterward, such as HR,
a mentor group, or an external resource if they are struggling.
• Encourage all attendees to follow along for free child mental health resources by following
#KidsMentalHealthFoundation on social media or signing up for their weekly emails at
TheKidsMentalHealthFoundation.org.
• For any crisis needs or discussions that arise, direct employees to call or text the
Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or text the Crisis Text Line by texting “START” to 741-741.
If there is an immediate safety concern, go the nearest emergency room.
• Schedule a demo to learn more about The Kids Mental Health Foundation’s resource,
Bloom: Supporting You in Growing Kids’ Mental Well-Being.
About The Kids Mental Health FoundationTM

The Kids Mental Health Foundation is the leading organization promoting mental health for
children in the United States. To achieve its vision to build a world where mental health is a vital
part of every child’s upbringing, more than 1,000 mental health professionals and researchers
at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, in partnership with other trusted experts, provide real-
world knowledge and expertise to power the Foundation’s free educational videos, guides and
curriculum. Launched in 2018 as The On Our Sleeves Movement for Children’s Mental Health,
the organization recently expanded its mission as The Kids Mental Health Foundation to reflect
the belief that emotional and physical wellbeing should be treated the same. To date, more than
15 million people have engaged with the Foundation’s materials, empowering parents, caregivers,
educators, coaches and employers.

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The Ripple Effect:

A Conversation Guide For The Workplace

Before the session, make sure to prepare the following:

During the session, follow these tips and conversation prompts:

About The Kids Mental Health FoundationTM

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