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Youth Intensive Services will stop free in‑school visits, superintendent says
Summary
The district learned that Youth Intensive Services will stop providing free school‑based support effective April 18, the superintendent told the board; district officials said Children's Advantage and Hazel Health may partially fill gaps while they seek other options for affected students.
The superintendent told the Waterloo Local Board of Education that Youth Intensive Services notified the district it will stop providing free in‑school services effective April 18, citing state delays in Medicaid payments.
"They will no longer be providing services for us effective April 18," the superintendent said, identifying Molly Powers as the on‑site provider who has worked in the district for more than a year. He said the provider had delivered services at no cost to the district and that the loss would cause anxiety for students and families who had relied on those supports.
The superintendent said the district expects to continue offering some services through other partners. "We do have other relationships with Children's Advantage. Children's Advantage is the other group and Hazel Health provides some," he said, but cautioned that staffing and details remain tentative.
Board members and administrators did not vote on a specific replacement at the meeting; instead, the superintendent said staff will look for ways to continue offering services at no charge and will keep the board informed. He emphasized the district is exploring options to preserve continuity for students who received services from Youth Intensive Services.
Why it matters: Youth Intensive Services had provided on‑site behavioral or intensive support free of charge for more than a year. The abrupt end of that provider's services could reduce access to school‑based mental‑health or behavioral supports for affected students unless alternative arrangements are finalized.
What happens next: District staff said they will continue outreach to potential providers, seek to preserve individual placements where possible, and report back to the board. The superintendent noted a possibility that the current provider could be hired by Children's Advantage, but said that arrangement remained uncertain at the time of the meeting.
Provenance: topicintro SEG 129; topfinish SEG 143.
