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District details community-schools grant, wellness centers and mental-health supports
Summary
Santa Paula Unified officials described Community Schools grant activities (SB 820/2021), two grant recipient campuses, districtwide wellness centers (6 of 9 campuses operational) and plans to sustain services through partnerships and reimbursement strategies under CYBHI/Healthy Campus.
District staff presented on the Community Schools grant and the district’s mental-health and family-engagement strategy.
The district said Veil Middle School and Barbara Webster are Community Schools grant recipients and that wellness centers now operate at six of nine campuses, with the most recent opening at Grace Still on Feb. 5 and Bedell’s grand opening set for March 25. Dr. Andres Santa Maria, director of student support services, said wellness centers provide safe spaces for students and families, peer-mentor programs and workshops in partnership with outside providers such as Bryte and Ventura County Behavioral Health.
The district described a tiered approach: Tier 1 wellness centers focus on universal supports and prevention, Tier 2 provides targeted counseling, and Tier 3 delivers intensive services via licensed mental-health counselors; in crisis cases the district coordinates with county CERT teams and may refer families to Ventura County Behavioral Health. Dr. Santa Maria said the district is pursuing sustainability through state and county partnerships and by joining the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) to enable reimbursement for services through Healthy Campus partnerships.
District trustees and councilmembers asked how families access services and how follow-up and referrals are handled; staff described intake plans for students returning from crisis holds, simultaneous referrals to county behavioral health for long-term needs, and outreach to parents through parent centers and community-school coordinators.
What happens next: the district will continue implementing community-school strategies, expand pantry/closet and parent resources where grant funds permit, and apply for further rounds of community-schools funding when available.
