Board approves one‑year renewal for Care Solace after low family uptake and cost concerns

The Newport‑Mesa Unified School District board on June 25 approved a one‑year renewal of the district’s service agreement with Care Solace, a third‑party mental‑health navigation service, after trustees raised questions about usage and value.

Assistant superintendent Torres explained Care Solace provides a referral and concierge matching service that district families can access directly. District data presented at the meeting showed 182 family‑initiated searches district‑wide this year. Trustees noted Care Solace began as a free pilot, then moved to a paid contract (previously reported at about $30,000) and the current renewal was presented at not to exceed roughly $56,000.

Trustee Elizabeth Anderson moved to limit the renewal to a one‑year term to allow staff to evaluate usage, coordinate with other county resources and increase outreach; trustee Barto seconded. The board voted to approve the one‑year renewal so staff can monitor trends and prepare a transition plan if appropriate.

District staff acknowledged other community resources (Be Well, CalOptima outreach, Hazel Health telehealth) and said Care Solace offers a multilingual concierge and a matching service that some families and staff have found valuable. Staff committed to targeted outreach to the secondary schools and parent communications to raise awareness of the resource and monitor whether family‑initiated referrals increase.

The one‑year renewal was approved to allow the district to reassess the cost‑benefit and integration of Care Solace with other local services before committing to multi‑year renewals.