Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Mental Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District mental-health coordinator: in-school therapy serving dozens as screening expands
Summary
East Lansing Public Schools outlined expanded mental-health programming on Dec. 9, reporting 47 referrals to ISD-provided in-school therapy this year with 37 students currently receiving services, and a universal screener completed by roughly 77% of eligible students.
Heather Finley, East Lansing Public Schools’ mental-health coordinator, told the board Dec. 9 the district is expanding tiered mental-health supports and using new screening and ISD partnerships to reach students who face barriers to community services.
Finley said the district’s Office of Health and Safety — which she described as a three-person team that includes a behavior systems specialist and a director of health and safety — delivers a mix of universal social-emotional learning, targeted small groups and in-school therapy. “We are offering TRAILS tier one … and five lessons at the high school and five lessons at the middle school,” she said, describing TRAILS as a cognitive-behavioral, social-emotional learning program used in classrooms.
Why it matters: Finley said the district’s in-school therapy arrangement with the intermediate school district (ISD) removes transportation and cost barriers for students and allows quicker access to care. “This year thus far we’ve had 47 referrals from the district for this service and 37 students are actually being provided the service right now,” she said, adding that the program targeted students who might otherwise lack access to community therapy.
Finley also described a universal screener (referred to in her presentation as MySAERS) offered to students in grades 2–12. About 3,000 students were offered the screener and the district had roughly a 77% participation rate on the first administration; Finley said the district plans to re-run the screener in February to measure change over time.
Board members pressed for details about equity and how staff distinguish trauma from behavior. Finley said the district’s training includes minority-stress and culturally responsive elements and credited local trainers and community partners for focused breakouts and follow-up development. “We actually were able to break out … to have some further conversation about that,” she said, and noted the mental-health advisory committee includes staff, students and community members.
Finley also described several workforce- and prevention-focused initiatives: youth Mental Health First Aid training for staff and community members, partnerships with DHHS and the ISD and a planned district mental-health summit in April. She said some of the programs (for example, TRAILS targeted groups and grief support called "Ellie’s Place") show growing participation; Ellie’s Place weekly attendance grew from three people in the first year to eight–12 participants, she said.
The presentation concluded with Finley noting that 31n funding and program delivery vary by county and that Ingam County elected to use some ISD resources to provide on-site mental-health specialists across several districts.
Next steps: The district will re-administer the screener in February and share results to inform programming and targeted outreach.
