Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Mental Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
State to fund SREB training for regional crisis recovery network serving schools and colleges
Summary
The Southern Regional Education Board will receive $160,000 in the amended budget to train counselors for a regional crisis recovery network that would deploy to schools and colleges after shootings or natural disasters, SREB officials said.
Director Hawkins introduced a budget amendment that includes $160,000 in the amended budget to support a regional crisis recovery network in partnership with the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB).
Steven Pruitt, president of SREB, told the committee the funds pay for training to create a deployable cadre of counselors who can provide stabilization and psychological first aid after significant public-safety events or natural disasters. SREB plans a pool of up to 650 counselors across 16 states who could be deployed for up to 10 days at a time, "to provide that stabilization for that school district or that college," Pruitt said, adding the initiative emphasizes placing trained counselors on the ground rather than relying on telehealth.
Pruitt said SREB will absorb travel, lodging and related deployment expenses and that the budgeted amount covers the training itself. He described the program's genesis in a previous incident in Kentucky when post-crisis counseling needs exceeded local capacity and noted the network is intended to allow immediate, trained responses rather than building recovery plans after a crisis begins.
Committee members praised the proposal and asked about modality; Pruitt reiterated that the model focuses on in-person stabilization and training. No formal votes or contract discussions were recorded in the provided transcript excerpt.
