Task force backs presenting Project AWARE and phased BAR funding plan to education committee

The Mental Health & Vulnerable Adult Task Force reviewed two k‑12 mental‑health proposals—Wyoming Project AWARE (a school‑based identification and referral model) and BAR (a school staffing/training and intervention model)—and agreed to present findings and options to the Joint Education Committee.

Department of Education staff summarized Project AWARE as a partnership that “pairs health care with education” where a community project manager, a paraprofessional (provided by a behavioral‑health contractor) and local training build a referral pathway from schools to behavioral‑health providers. Department presenters said the program relies on local behavioral‑health partners to provide clinical care and billing; the state provides a service‑contract supplement for non‑reimbursable costs and state-level project coordination.

Why it matters: Task force members described rising youth behavioral‑health needs, teacher retention concerns related to classroom behavioral issues, and Wyoming’s high suicide rate; they said better screening, clearer referral pathways and targeted supports for schools are needed.

Key details and costs discussed

- Project AWARE statewide scale: the department estimated an overall cost of roughly $13,469,200 annually to serve an estimated 6,000 students per year (district costs ~ $12.4 million; additional annual state costs ~ $1.2 million). The plan would fund district community project managers, paraprofessionals (to help students access care), behavioral‑health service contracts and professional‑development funding to support MTSS/PBIS work. - Uninsured/underinsured care: Project AWARE’s model requires behavioral‑health partners to provide care to an uninsured/underinsured portion of caseload (presenters described a working target of roughly 10% of served students) and suggested a $500,000 pool to reimburse providers at Medicaid rates for uninsured services. - BAR costs: full statewide funding was estimated at 287 contracts at $80,000 each, or $22,960,000 per year; presenters noted that is roughly $68.9 million over three years and recommended a phased approach. Task force members and agency staff said phasing would let the state pilot and collect data before requesting large supplemental funding.

Members also emphasized avoiding duplication and preserving local control. Director Johansen and others said AWARE and BAR are complementary: AWARE focuses on identification and referral infrastructure; BAR focuses on team‑based prevention and teacher teams that identify strengths and intervene at school before higher‑acuity referral.

Action and next steps

Task force chairs will appear before the Joint Education Committee next week to present the task force’s findings and recommendations. Members asked the Department of Education to refine cost assumptions (notably the uninsured/underinsured estimates) and to produce a simple visual that maps how prevention (student‑centered learning, PBIS/MTSS), identification (AWARE or BAR recognition tools), and referral (care coordination such as Care Solace) fit together.

Ending

Presenters said they will return to the task force with clarifications and reprioritized cost options; members favored a phased rollout approach for BAR rather than a single large supplemental request.