School system to use opioid-abatement funds for Care Portal and CAST student support programs

Campbell County Public Schools announced plans to implement two student-support programs after the Board of Supervisors approved funding through opioid-abatement settlement money in July.

Dr. Wilson, speaking during the Aug. 11 school board meeting, described Care Portal as “a care-sharing technology that drives action for kids and families in crisis.” The division will use the platform to route anonymous requests identified by school staff or partner caseworkers to vetted community organizations, churches and individuals who can meet material or service needs.

The school division intends a two-stage vetting process: school staff identify needs and submit requests to two countywide student-support specialists; Dr. Wilson and the specialists will vet those submissions before posting them on Care Portal. “Those requests are all submitted anonymously,” Dr. Wilson said. If families want to remain confidential, items will be delivered to the school for pickup; if families agree, community responders may deliver and begin a longer-term support relationship.

Dr. Wilson listed common Tier 1 needs the program will target, including bedding, clothing, school supplies, groceries, car seats, transportation help, and small home or car repairs that can affect attendance: “People don't have car seats to transport their own children … those type of things come up when we talk about truancy.” He emphasized the platform is intended to connect local generosity with identified need, not to make the school division a direct provider of household assistance.

Care Portal training for division staff was described as scheduled “next Monday, the eighteenth” (month not specified in the transcript). Implementation will begin in the first semester; Dr. Wilson said a small circle of division staff (two student-support specialists and himself) will vet requests at the start.

Dr. Wilson also described CAST (Coping and Support Training), a two-decade-old evidence-based, skills-focused curriculum the division plans to introduce in high schools during the second semester. CAST facilitators will be four current Campbell County staff members who will take about 10–12 hours of training in September and October. Participation is voluntary and requires parent consent; invitations will come from each school's multidisciplinary student-support or intervention team and will target students identified with Tier 2 or Tier 3 needs. The program is not counseling, Dr. Wilson said, but “purely addressing skill deficits … in a targeted way.”

Board members asked how churches and individuals join Care Portal; Dr. Wilson said a regional implementation partner (referred to in the meeting as “5 18”) is recruiting nonprofits and faith groups and will provide the portal training. He said individuals can also use the platform to identify and meet needs, but the school-side process will restrict who can post requests and that the division will vet legitimacy before posting.

Dr. Wilson said data collection is part of the implementation and that the division will track outcomes to report both to the school board and to the board of supervisors to justify continued or expanded funding.

Discussion-only points: board members and attendees raised safety and privacy concerns about volunteers and donors visiting homes and about accepting used items such as car seats; Dr. Wilson and other speakers emphasized vetting, anonymity by default, and standard safety checks (for example, checking car-seat expiration dates). Dr. Wilson also said the division will avoid monetary handouts to families; monetary gifts would be targeted to specific needs and administered through the approved process.

Next steps: Care Portal training for staff precedes first-semester use; CAST facilitator training is scheduled for fall and student rollout in the spring semester. The division will collect implementation data and report back to the board and supervisors.