Return to School After Traumatic Brain Injury: Description of Implementation Settings.

Only 4 programs were reviewed in depth, so the descriptions may not represent all return-to-school programs. Programs had to have relevant data, a healthcare-school link, at least 6 months of operation, and no prior rigorous evaluation, which may have excluded other models. State agency programs were not site reviewed because their data were not available, so their reach and processes are less certain. The paper describes program settings and processes, not student health or academic outcomes. Healthcare programs could only follow children who returned for medical visits, so long-term monitoring may miss families with access barriers. School programs can follow students through graduation, but private school and home-schooled children may not receive the same identification and support.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. CDC carried out the assessment with ICF International as the project contractor.

Do not read the program descriptions as evidence that return-to-school services improve student health or academic performance. The paper says no systematic evaluation of effectiveness has been done.