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Mental-health coordinator: district saw 227 referrals and dozens of crisis assessments in early term
Summary
The district's mental-health and wellness coordinator told the board the program has handled 227 referrals, 26 suicide assessments and multiple threat assessments in the first weeks of school, and that the staff expanded from about 2.5 to seven full-time clinicians with a new EHR to track care.
Christie, the district's mental health and wellness coordinator, told the Anderson School District 3 board she now manages referrals, crisis response, psychoeducation and counseling across all five schools and that the program has expanded rapidly.
"We have seen 227 referrals in the first 43 days of school," Christie said, and added that the district conducted 26 suicide assessments in the first 23 days and 12 behavior-threat assessments. She said about 174 students were actively receiving services at the time of her presentation and that the district's current compliance rate for referrals seen was roughly 76 percent.
The coordinator described operational measures to keep students in care: a digital referral and quality-assurance system, monthly staffing meetings that include district clinicians and guidance counselors, and mandatory re-entry meetings for students returning after a mental-health absence. She said the district implemented an electronic health record to centralize charting and produce aggregate reports by school and issue type.
Christie also described crisis-management work: when outside agencies are slow to respond, district staff arrange hospitalizations or appointments with regional providers, conduct family outreach and hold re-entry meetings to assess safety before students return to school. She said the district has seven full-time clinicians now (up from roughly two-and-a-half) and that some clinicians are provided by partner agencies including the Office of Mental Health, Stepping Stones and Epworth.
Board members asked whether clinicians bill for services and about licensing. Christie said billing practices vary by agency, county-board clinicians do not bill the district, and approximately three clinicians serving students hold LPC credentials with agency oversight in place.
Christie framed the program as both reactive and proactive: in addition to crisis work and counseling she described suicide-prevention events, classroom programming and staff counseling services. She warned that the volume and severity of needs are straining capacity and said the district is working to keep clinicians focused on direct care.
The presentation concluded with board praise for the staffing expansion and a reminder that October and February are historically high-referral months; Christie and the board said they will continue monitoring caseloads and staffing capacity.
