Henrico Cares reports year‑one gains in school‑based mental health services

Superintendent Cashwell told the Henrico County School Board that Henrico Cares — a five‑year partnership between Henrico County government and Henrico County Public Schools — officially launched in the 2024–25 school year and has produced measurable early results.

The presentation, delivered by Amy Johnson (HCPS school‑based mental health clinical supervisor) and Daniel Rigsby (Henrico Area Mental Health and Developmental Services), said the first year established five Tiered Intervention School Counselors (TISC) at the high‑school level and added licensed mental health professionals embedded in elementary schools. Staff also launched two no‑cost access points: Care Solace (a 24/7 multilingual care‑coordination service) and Hazel Health (weekly virtual teletherapy for high‑school students).

Johnson reported that Care Solace connected more than an estimated 452 HCPS students, families and staff to new mental‑health providers in the first year, with average wait times of roughly two to three weeks and a 45 percent appointment‑into‑care rate, which the presenters said exceeds a cited national average of 18 percent. Hazel Health had about 132 high‑school participants who collectively completed roughly 536 weekly teletherapy sessions, with 62 students continuing through the summer.

Rigsby described co‑location of a second mental‑health team at Fairfield Middle School that delivered on‑site outpatient therapy, case management and referral to intensive services; he also highlighted Parent‑Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) results, saying 89 percent of participating children showed significant behavioral improvement. The partnership also provides clinical supervision to support licensure for school counselors and social workers.

Board members pressed staff on stigma reduction, outreach methods and screening. Johnson said the district used life‑skills curriculum (Botvin), youth mental‑health first‑aid trainings, student‑led mental‑health clubs and communications campaigns to reduce stigma and increase awareness. On screening, staff said a universal screener has not yet been selected; a multidisciplinary team will evaluate options this year and determine whether participation will be opt‑in or opt‑out.

Members also asked about crisis‑level follow up and tracking for students identified at high‑risk for suicide. Johnson said schools use a suicide screener to triage risk and refer high‑risk students to partners (including Henrico Mental Health and crisis providers) for same‑day response when needed; non‑crisis referrals use Care Solace and other partner pathways that average two to three weeks for routine appointments.

The board commended the work and asked staff to provide additional data in future reports — including longer trend series, contextual perspective for percentage declines, details on Hazel Health session patterns, and follow‑up on reasons students stopped accessing services over the summer. Staff agreed to provide those materials and to return to the board with updates in upcoming meetings.

The presentation and board discussion did not include a formal vote on policy changes; instead, staff were asked to return with follow‑up data and implementation details.