Community Mental Health in Schools Development of the Partnership between North Kansas city schools and tri-county mental health Services

Janelle Porter and Perry Hilvitz Student Services Compliance (Policy AC/GBM), Discipline, Counselors, School to Career, Residency, Social Workers, Mental Health, Homeless/Foster Care Coordination, Summer School, Review of Services, Alternative Education, Suspension Hearings, Diversity Council, Harassment/Bullying, OCR/Legal Issues, 504 compliance

21 elementary sites 5 middle schools DISTRICT FACTSCTS 19,554 students 21 elementary sites 5 middle schools 4 high schools 7% 10.3% 48.4% 36.9% District facts English Language Learners Special Education Students Free and Reduced Lunch Rate Mobility Rate

Need Identified by Building Administrators -During the 2014-2015 school year administrators in the buildings identified that they were having increasing difficulty with managing student behavior and an increasing number of students were displaying symptoms of mental illness and emotional distress. -This lead to the formation of a task force to address this issue late first semester that year. -In the Spring of the 2014-2015 after the idea to introduce more focused mental health services into the District, a plan was presented to Tri-County Mental Health to partner with the District

Community Mental Health Agency Mental Health services for the Division of Behavioral Health (DBH), formerly the Divisions of Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Comprehensive Psychiatric Services, are accessed through 25 service areas, with each service area serving particular counties of the state. Community Mental Health Centers and/or Affiliates are responsible for providing these services. These agencies determine a person's eligibility for services and provide those services. (definition taken from the Missouri Department of Mental Health website) -Tri-County Mental Health Services is the designated Community Mental Health Agency for the region -this eliminated the need to bid out the services because there is no competition for community mental health

We provide space and the direct referral of clients if they provide a full-time clinician -there is no grant and no financial agreement -we developed a plan that is both mutually beneficial and sustainable -not only does the service benefit the District and mentla health agency , but it benefits students and families as well -In September of 2015 the office opened and the buildings began making referrals

-The space provided has work space, meeting space, and separate therapy space -There is also an outisde entrance attached to a parking lot -the first year the district provided a full time “liasion” in the office to assist with setting up the program and helping with the referrals and communication with the schools and Transportation department. -the second year that role was dissolved into another position and the therapist took over most of those duties.

The office provides intake appointments, referrals to other community mental health agencies, consultations, one on one therapy, and family therapy.

Bus transportation is provided to students who have individual therapy appointments during the school day. Or to families who need assistance with transportation to an intake appointment. -bus transportation is the most important piece -we have access to our own District buses and are able to move kids throughout the District when needed

Our therapist is only a phone call or e-mail away! -in addition to services for students our therapist is a support to staff by providing insight and understanding of her work with students through professional development, consultation, and communication

Outcomes Total Referrals = 271 No show rate = 0% (since implementation in September 2015) No show rate = 0% -compare this to a typical no show rate for the mental health agency of 28-30%

Over 3000 services provided through Tri-County Mental Health -since implementation over 3000 services have been provided through Tri-County Mental Health to the students who were referred and then became active clients in their system -this does not include all of the students who were referred to therapists or other providers outside of the Tri-County network

Connections = Access Creating a direct referral system Removing barriers Fear Cost Transportation issues -This process taught us that there was not a lack of available services, there really was an issue with families accessing the needed services -The barriers that were preventing families from accessing those services were ineffective and tedious referral procedures, fear, concerns about cost, and difficulty getting transportation

Removal of Barriers = No Show Rate of 0%

Parent/Guardian Satisfaction Survey Results I felt comfortable and welcomed with the School MH Liaison I understand how to access crisis services for my child if needed I feel hopeful the services to which we were referred will help my child Overall I am satisfied with the services we received 100% Strongly Agree/Agree

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? Continue to grow/expand partnership Introduce group therapy for students Increase training for teachers and staff to better support behavior management Continue to monitor data and re-evaluate procedures and systems Move from mental health to comprehensive health

Mental Health Services to Comprehensive Health Services Creating a system with partnerships that allow experts in areas such as medical, dental, vision, and mental health to meet their clients on-site which removes barriers: Transportation issues Missed appointments Intimidating atmospheres Lessen the financial burden on our partners by taking advantage of Medicaid rules related to FQHCs and utilizing telehealth/medicine Being more proactive by focusing on preventative care for students such as Annual Healthy Child Screens as much as response to illness/injury

Perry Hilvitz Ed D (Executive Director, Student Services) Perry.Hilvitz@nkcschools.org Janelle Porter LCSW (Coordinator, Student Services) Janelle.Porter@nkcschools.org