Warren Township board approves Jane Pauley as district behavioral-health partner

The Metropolitan School District of Warren Township approved Jane Pauley Community Health Center as its new behavioral and mental health partner after an RFP process prompted by the district's long partnership ending with the previous vendor.

Allison Woods, the district's behavioral health lead, told the board the evaluation committee prioritized continuity of services, inclusion of Warren Online Academy, crisis support for families, life-skills clinicians who can push into classrooms, and an intensive mental-health classroom model. "All of our students will be able to access school-based services," Woods said, adding that the recommended partner offers on-site medical management and pharmacy delivery to reduce barriers to care.

Woods also told the board the committee received multiple proposals, interviewed finalists and narrowed the choice to three before recommending Jane Pauley. She said the center's model reduces paperwork burden for clinicians and, importantly, will support the district's intensive mental-health classroom "with no additional cost" to the district.

Mark Hackett, CEO of Jane Pauley Community Health Center, and members of Jane Pauley's clinical leadership introduced themselves and outlined service capacity. "We see individuals no matter their insurance status," said Dr. Arif Kassem, regional medical director, affirming the organization's role as a safety-net provider.

Board members asked how uninsured families would be served, how the provider would coordinate with in-district programs (including MCRC and ESP), and whether staff would be housed to serve students at alternative placements. Woods said the provider uses a sliding-fee scale, can connect families to Medicaid, and will meet with district leads to plan referrals and transition supports.

A motion to approve the recommendation was made and seconded; the board voted to approve the contract. Two members announced they would abstain: one noted a conflict of interest because they serve as chair of the Jane Pauley Community Health Center board. The board recorded the motion as approved; the meeting record did not include a roll-call tally in the transcript.

The district will move into transition planning with Jane Pauley, including weekly coordination meetings to define referral pathways, staffing levels per building and how summer/break programming and crisis lines will be provided. Woods said she will follow up with written details on insurance, services for uninsured families and how Jane Pauley will support students in out-of-school placements.

The approval sends the contract process to implementation planning; the board did not discuss contract dollar amounts in the public presentation.

What's next: district staff and Jane Pauley will meet to finalize operational details and family-access procedures so services can begin without gaps after the previous provider's contract ends.