Yorktown PPS describes rising secondary mental-health needs, recommends hires and partnership with Westchester Medical Center

Caroline Amida, introduced in the meeting as the districts director of pupil personnel, presented special-education and student-support data and asked the board to consider two staffing changes to address growing mental-health needs.

Amida said the district currently employs nine social workers and two behavior specialists districtwide and noted one key trend: "the majority of our referrals for secondary students are because of increased mental-health needs," shifting the bulk of classified referrals from elementary to high school since the COVID pandemic.

To respond, Amida recommended adding a full-time social worker at the high school "to help meet those growing needs" and an additional psychologist at Crompond Elementary to serve as the buildings behavior specialist, conduct functional behavioral assessments and develop behavior intervention plans. She said the additional psychologist would also supervise the districts small special-class program at that school and provide overflow counseling and psychoeducational evaluations at the elementary level.

Amida described the districts Flex Path therapeutic program for high-school students, reporting 12—7 students served over two years and six expected graduates; based on program experience she recommended setting capacity at 14 next year to ensure depth of support.

On system partnerships, Amida said the district began an outpatient consultation relationship with Westchester Medical Center to help pre-assess students and determine whether outpatient care or emergency-room intervention is required. "It's a great partnership because it allows us to have consultation with the psychiatrists at that hospital to help us determine if it's an emergency-room visit that's needed or to avoid those unnecessary emergency room visits," she said.

Amida also noted a regulatory change: under New York State rules the district will provide services until the day before a students 22nd birthday, rather than ending services in the school year in which a student turns 21, affecting transition planning for older students.

She closed by highlighting operational steps to improve Medicaid billing, including printing prescriptions through district software starting July 1 to better match IEP start/end dates and service details and recoup eligible reimbursement.