How do Southeastern NC schools deal with mental health?
Star-NewsMar 17, 2018
How they perform in school, where they'll go to college, if they'll get a job, what kind of person they want to be -- these questions put major stress on the mind. What if that stressed child is also bullied? What if she feels alone? What if he struggles with an undiagnosed mental health condition?
How do those factors affect a child's capacity to hurt himself, or others?
"Being a young person is difficult," said
In the month after the school shooting in
At a recent round table on school safety,
"You can harden schools as much as you want, you can put as many cameras in the schools as you want, you can put as many (school resource officers) in the schools as you want," Corpening said. "But until you take care of what's inside the walls, schools aren't going to be safe."
By the numbers
No matter what public school your child attends in
Every school in the region has at least one guidance counselor, while middle and high schools often have two, three or four. Schools also share school psychologists: seven each in
In addition to 69 counselors and 48 social workers, the district's school psychologist page lists 16 staffers for 47 schools. At the elementary and middle school level, 13 additional clinical therapists provided by the
"We have therapists in the school for school-based mental health, which is awesome for students because it gets them a chance to assess their needs without having to take time off," Jordan said.
WHAT's parent organization Coastal Horizons also contracts with all three school districts for additional care, as to other mental health organizations.
"There's no such thing as an average caseload," Cauley said. "There may be a school with 500 students in it and one counselor, so their caseload is that entire student body, and that's pretty typical across
But school officials cannot make mental health diagnoses, often needed to secure treatment, medication, or money for both through Medicaid or private insurance.
"If they can, they plug them into other services such as psychologists or psychiatrists," he said. "We have school nurses in each one of our schools as well, and it gives us another set of professionals to interact with these kids before they become teenagers, when they're most vulnerable."
Assessing the risks
What makes a child more likely to hurt herself or others? Schools actually have roadmaps for finding those answers.
Students at risk of suicidal behavior are evaluated using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale, developed at
The form has spaces to note if a child has been abused, has a chronic medical condition or family history of suicide. It also accounts for positive factors, like whether she can name reasons for living, or has supportive friends and family.
If school staff determine a child has moderate or high risk of suicidal behavior, they call in her parents to talk about next steps. In some cases, the child will not be able to return to school until she has clearance from a licensed mental health professional.
For possibly homicidal students,
In the most serious cases where a threat has been made, law enforcement is called.
"They also are required to see a licensed mental health professional as well, but of course with that type of threat it's kind of a case-by-case basis as to next steps," Jordan said. "We have to work with law enforcement."
Is it enough?
NCSPA President
Boling said that statewide, there are just 740 school psychologists; 12 of the state's 115 school districts have zero.
School psychologists' responsibilities fall under what's called the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), which includes helping kids succeed academically as well as behaviorally. In districts with just a few school psychologists, staff only have time to focus on the academic component of MTSS or "putting out fires" on the behavioral side.
"That requires a lot more staff because that means that you need to be a part of that community -- you're housed at the school or you're housed at a few schools and you're not just going in to do this very finate task," she said. "We really would rather spend that time on the preventative end, and that also helps more kids. When we're just working in reactionary mode, we have to work with one kid at a time."
On Wednesday, the NCSPA will be presenting at a meeting of the
"Sometimes it takes a very big societal crisis to realize there's a gap between our kids and our services," Boling said.
Students in more rural areas also have a harder time accessing mental health care outside of school.
"You can always use more," said
"Our families don't have access to transportation, or they don't have money to pay for gas for transportation," she said.
Jordan, of
"I think the world is changing in a way that mental health needs are great, and fortunately the awareness of those needs is great," Jordan said. "Mental health is important, that's health. And just like if we saw a child with a broken arm, we wouldn't turn our heads and do nothing."
Mental health staff
* Counselors: 69
* School psychologists: 16
* Social workers: 48
* Clinical therapists (provided by county): 13
* Counselors: 30
* School psychologists: 7
* Behavioral specialists: 7
* Social workers: 5
* Counselors: 21
* School psychologists: 7
*Does not included all contracted staff from outside mental health care organizations
Sources:
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