Our Purpose
A mission that matters
Since our launch in June 2021, the Scanlan Center has become Iowa’s “go-to” school mental health partner. Now, with the increasing mental health needs of educators and students, our work is expanding to prevent future —and mitigate current —social, emotional, behavioral, and psychological needs in schools and on campuses.
Housed in the University of Iowa's College of Education, the Scanlan Center combines professional development, clinical services, cutting-edge research, and actionable resources to help schools create supportive learning environments where both students and staff can thrive.
Educational Partners
Policymakers
Mental Health Professionals
# 2
[Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, 2023]
77 %
[Pew Research Center, 2024]
3-in-10
[Pew Research Center, 2024]
70 %
[Lipson, 2021]
How we are making a difference
In our annual reports, we detail our priorities, outline the initiatives we pursued to realize them, and highlight the partnerships that were instrumental in driving our impact across all 99 counties in Iowa and beyond.
2025 Annual Report
This annual report marks a pivotal transition from a grant-funded to fee-for-service model. Highlights include expanded clinical and psychiatric services, new access for K-12 caregivers, and a shift toward customized professional development — prioritizing depth, intention, and lasting community impact.
2023-2024 Annual Report
Over these 15 months, we delivered professional development for 11,000+ K-12 educators/school staff and 5,200+ higher education faculty/staff while providing 1,400+ counseling sessions - working tirelessly to help Iowans across the K-12 to college continuum reduce stress, build resilience, and develop skills that enable them to grow and thrive.
2022 - 2023 Annual Report
Year 2 marked a period of impressive growth. We proudly trained 50+ doctoral students with expertise in school mental health. Our clinical services expanded while our professional development arm launched new online modules and a paraeducator fellowship program. Additionally, 4,500+ campus faculty and staff from across the state engaged in training.
2021 - 2022 Annual Report
The work our team did in one year alone was remarkable. More than $1 million in research funding was distributed; 600+ K-12 students and educators accessed clinical services; 3,000+ K-12 educators participated in professional development opportunities; and we launched our higher education programming.
Emotional / Behavioral Disorders
Family Therapy
Suicide Prevention
Trauma-Informed Care
School Counseling
Social Emotional Learning
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports
Culturally-Responsive Practices