Prince George's County truancy work group focuses on trauma‑informed training and school mental‑health services

Prince George's County Council member Crystal Orieva, co‑chair of the county’s truancy work group, opened a meeting on recommendations to address chronic absenteeism by focusing on root causes and mental health supports.

The work group discussed several long‑ and short‑term proposals including making trauma‑informed training more systemic, expanding access to in‑school and telehealth mental‑health services, scaling social‑emotional learning across schools, widening peer‑led supports, and evaluating alternative learning options for students with chronic health or family challenges. "We are focusing on truancy recommendations around root causes and mental health," Orieva said at the start of the session.

Why it matters: school officials said many students who miss class have underlying mental‑health needs that current staffing does not meet. Officials described a layered approach—prevention through social‑emotional learning (SEL) and counseling, targeted interventions by social workers, and more intensive clinical services—while warning that workforce shortages and funding transitions constrain implementation.

Trauma‑informed training and broader staff coverage: Work group members reviewed a recommendation to require trauma‑informed practices and training for school staff beyond classroom teachers, such as cafeteria workers and bus drivers. A county education official said existing offerings are largely voluntary continuing‑education courses and not a systemic requirement. "There's a long list, a whole host of things people can do for their continuing education credits… but so there's no specific topics that are required," the official said. Members noted that making training mandatory would be a longer‑term, higher‑cost change and debated how to include nonteaching staff who regularly interact with students.

Hazel Health teletherapy and school clinicians: County presenters described Hazel Health, a telehealth vendor the district started in secondary schools and then rolled out to elementary schools. According to the presentation, Hazel does not require students to provide Medicaid or insurance information to receive services; families who choose to provide insurance data can do so but students are not denied care for lack of insurance. "Every school has access to Hazel," a PGCPS mental‑health official said, adding that the vendor supplies monthly utilization data (number of students served, where they accessed services, and demographic breakdowns).

Separately, the district said it has been adding clinical mental‑health staff in schools using a mix of community‑school funds and federal ESSER funding. With ESSER largely ended, the system now uses a hybrid model—district funds during the school day and Medicaid/insurance billing for other hours. Officials said most schools have an allocation for a mental‑health clinician but vacancies remain.

Staffing gaps and caseloads: Presenters compared recommended staffing ratios with current local levels. Citing the National Association of School Psychologists' guidance of one psychologist per 500 students, a district official said Prince George's County is "closer to 1 to 1,500," and described even wider shortfalls for social workers and counselors. Work group members said high turnover, large vacancies and frequent hiring of conditionally licensed teachers make training and consistent implementation difficult.

Social‑emotional learning rollout: District staff described multi‑year SEL work that began under ESSER and has moved to Title IV and other funding. Programs named include Sanford Harmony (elementary counseling use), Second Step (middle schools), Quaver (elementary digital resources), partnerships with Mount Holyoke College and the National Network of State Teachers of the Year, and a plan for a five‑year SEL "saturation" across the system. The district also offers asynchronous graduate courses and teacher boot camps for SEL certification.

Peer supports and Sources of Strength: The work group reviewed evidence‑based, peer‑led models. "Sources of Strength is a research or evidence based program for suicide intervention," a PGCPS official said. The county said it rolled out Sources of Strength to 10 schools under a federal grant, added 20 schools this year, and plans to add about 25 schools each year until all secondary schools are covered.

Alternative learning and online options: Members discussed nontraditional programs, evening school and the district’s online campus, which was created during the pandemic and remains the district’s only full‑time online option. One staff member who reviewed enrollment materials said the fiscal‑year‑2026 proposed cap for the online campus is 212 students (grades 7–12), and that the program’s published requirements include a minimum 2.5 GPA and a strong attendance record, with chronically absent students listed as ineligible. The work group flagged the question of whether an online option could or should be adapted for chronically absent students as a topic for follow‑up research.

Family supports, community hubs and the Maryland consortium: Speakers outlined county and state efforts to coordinate behavioral‑health providers. The Maryland Consortium for Coordinated Community Supports funds service providers statewide; presenters said Prince George’s County currently has 18 funded providers (more than other counties) but lacks a local "hub" to coordinate referrals. Hubs are intended to perform needs assessments and connect families to providers; the county is still in the RFP review and pilot expansion stage.

Barriers and next steps: Members repeatedly returned to workforce instability as a primary barrier—high vacancy rates, teacher turnover, and the prevalence of conditionally licensed staff. Work group members directed staff to continue gathering information and recommended presentations on topics where gaps remain, such as alternative‑learning eligibility and hub development. The group will use an online recommendations tab to collect, color‑code and ultimately vote on proposals as it approaches its report deadline.

Procedural note: At the meeting’s start the group approved the minutes from the prior meeting. The motion to approve was moved by Dr. Donna Christie and seconded by Crystal Orieva; the chair announced the minutes approved with no objections.

The work group scheduled its next meeting for April 16 at 3 p.m., according to staff.