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District outlines student support services and Care Solace referrals as part of mental-health strategy
Summary
District staff summarized social-emotional screening (Dessa), school psychologist and social-worker caseloads, crisis and small-group interventions, community partnerships and early Care Solace referral numbers (55 referrals this year, 33 resulting in appointments).
District mental-health and student-support staff presented an update on services, screening and community partnerships tied to strategic Goal 5 (promoting mental health and wellness).
Ms. Keener and her team explained the division's use of the Dessa social-emotional screener for kindergarten through eighth grade, how students are triaged (typical/strengths/needs), and procedures for follow-up screening and small-group interventions for students who fall in the needs range. School psychologists complete comprehensive psychological and psychoeducational evaluations as required, and social workers provide socio-cultural documentation and family connections as part of special education eligibility processes.
Vanessa Morris described Care Solace, a 24/7 referral service the district began using in July 2023 to connect students and families to community mental-health providers. She reported 55 individual referrals this year (school-initiated), 6 family-initiated referrals, 45 anonymous searches and 33 referrals that resulted in appointments so far. "Care Solace has been able to help us connect these families to other outside mental health services in a quick time frame," she said.
Presenters also described prevention programming (Signs of Suicide), the JHS Hope Squad peer-support model, and participation in a state suicide-prevention learning collaborative to strengthen comprehensive prevention, intervention and postvention planning.
Attendance and behavior teams presented quarter-by-quarter incident and first-semester attendance data: division chronic absenteeism at 16.37% (secondary schools above 20%) and the district's use of MTSS, PBIS, attendance recovery programs and automated communications to families through an attendance partner to reduce chronic absenteeism.
Ending: Staff asked the board for continued support as they expand targeted supports, partnerships and training; board members thanked the team and asked follow-up questions about data storage, parent involvement in evaluations and summer service availability for referrals.
