New Toolkit Helps Montana Health Departments Engage Students and Schools

The Montana Public Health Training Center is excited to announce the release of the Public Health Where We Live and Learn Toolkit, a practical resource designed to help local and tribal health departments build meaningful connections with students and schools.

Developed with input from public health leaders across Montana, the toolkit provides ready-to-use classroom activities, public health talking points, guidance for building school partnerships, career exposure resources, job shadowing tools, and more. Whether you are interested in speaking to a classroom, participating in a career day, hosting a student job shadow, or simply exploring ways to introduce public health to young people, this toolkit offers flexible, low-barrier strategies that can be adapted to your department’s capacity and community needs. Access the toolkit and provide feedback here.

To help health departments get started, MTPHTC will also be offering a live virtual training, Public Health Where We Live and Learn: Montana Strategies for School Engagement, on July 23 at 1pm MT via Zoom. Participants will explore key toolkit resources, learn practical strategies for engaging schools, and leave with a clear roadmap and ready-to-use tools for conducting their first school outreach effort. Register for the training here.

Professional Writing Basics - DPHHS System Improvement Office

Clear writing saves time, reduces confusion and helps public health teams work more effectively across Montana communities. That is the focus of the upcoming Professional Writing Basics workshop hosted by Kerry Christopher, a communications consultant supporting the DPHHS Systems Improvement Office.

This one-hour virtual training will provide practical, easy-to-use techniques staff can apply immediately to everyday communication including emails, reports and routine written materials. Participants will learn simple strategies for writing more clearly, organizing information effectively and avoiding common misunderstandings that can slow down work. It will help you brush up on grammar rules you may have forgotten after school and avoid emails where everyone reads it three times and still asks, "Wait, what are we supposed to do?"

Date:  Wednesday, June 10

Time: 9am – 10am

Location: Zoom

Register on TRAIN Montana here.

Kratom Fact Sheet - MT Injury Prevention Program

The Montana Injury Prevention Program recently released a kratom fact sheet, which provides general information on kratom and related substances such as 7-OH, and provides Montana-specific kratom-related morbidity and mortality data.

Kratom is a substance derived from the leaves of a tropical tree (Mitragyna speciosa) that is used for a variety of purposes, including for pain relief, management of opioid withdrawal symptoms, and recreational use. Research suggests that kratom acts on mu-opioid receptors in the brain resulting in some similar effects to opioids. Synthesized extracts of a kratom alkaloid commonly known as 7-OH are more potent and can produce effects that more closely resemble those of opioids. Because of this, products with high amounts of 7-OH may be associated with increased risk of dependence and overdose. The evidence base on 7-OH is still being established.

Montana data on kratom is sparse but indicate that there have been 45 deaths between 2019 and 2024 where kratom has been detected in the person's system. Understanding the impact of kratom use in Montana is often complicated by the concurrent use of additional substances.

Funding Opportunities

• Montana Healthcare Foundation’s 2026 Rural Health Small Grants

• MTPHI Community Engagement Grants (applications accepted on a rolling basis)

• MTPHI Capacity Enhancing Grants - the next cycle will open in July 2026