SHAPE – How To Get Started

SHAPE – How To Get Started

The SHAPE Process

If interested in learning more about support provided by the NYS Office of Mental Health, reach out to a System of Care Team Member at SHAPE@omh.ny.gov.

If interested in exploring the SHAPE System, sign up on the SHAPE site

  1. Your team’s SHAPE lead should be the first to register with your school/district – this will give them an administrative account, through which they can approve membership for team members
  2. Once on the sign-up page, fill in the necessary information, including which state and level you are registering with (New York State; individual, school, district, or state-level):
    • If you have a question about what account type is most appropriate for your given needs, click on the “learn more” tab next to each given option for more information:
  3. If registering at the individual level, you will need to choose which school and/or district you are most familiar with:
  4. If registering at the school level, you will need to choose which school and district you are associated with, and whether or not you are employed by that school (if you are not employed by the school, your registration with a particular school team will need to be approved by an administrator for that team):
  5. If registering at the district level, you will need to choose which district you are associated with, and whether or not you are employed by the district (if you are not employed by the district, your registration with a particular district team will need to be approved by an administrator for that team):
  6. If registering at the state level, you will need to disclose whether or not you are employed by the chosen state (New York State):
  7. Before registration is complete, you will be asked a series of short questions about your perspective on school mental health in your school/district.
    • Answer these questions based on your own role/perspective; make your best educated guess or select “not sure” if unsure about a response:
  8. Individuals who are the first to create a particular school/district team will be granted administrator status for that team (this needs to be someone employed by the school or district).
    • If you are granted administrator status, your registration will be approved.
    • At times, you may sign up for a specific school/district team and be redirected to an individual account temporarily (e.g. if you are not employed by the district). The administrators for your team account can then approve this account for team membership:
  9. Even if your request for registration is pending, you can access the School Mental Health Quality Assessment (SMH-QA), SHAPE Resource Center, Screening & Assessment Tools, and Trauma Responsive Schools Implementation Assessment (TRS-IA) with your individual-level account in the meantime, to familiarize yourself with some of the SHAPE resources
    • Note: any data you enter as an individual account member is not connected to a school (even if you said that school was one with which you are “associated”) until you officially join that team and gain school/district-level access.

Questions on SHAPE?

To learn more about SHAPE: