School-based mental health program to improve access to care
Daily NewsSep 09, 2018
Bass said if a school official makes a referral, the first step is for the school to contact the parent and let them know that the option of an assessment is available.
"We aren't contacted without a parent's consent," Bass said.
If a parent gives consent, Pride in
Bass also noted that if they find out a child is already benefiting from treatment with another therapist, they want the child to continue treatment with that provider.
"The No. 1 factor that determines the success of therapy isn't they number of years of services received; the No. 1 factor of success is how well a person relates to and communicates with a therapist," Bass said.
Families are not obligated to use the school-based services, but if there is a need, Bass said the school-based services are a way to help students who may not be getting the help they need because of challenges getting access to services.
"Transportation is a big barrier," Bass said.
Often, he said, it is difficult for families to get to and from appointments and to take the time off work to do so.
"The beauty about this is that (the service) is provided right at school so a parent doesn't have to take the time off work and the student is not having to be out an hour-and-a-half or two hours at a time and missing that school time," Bass said.
"The greatest benefit of being able to provide these services on campus during the school day will be increased access for our families," Gartner said. "On-campus services remove barriers such as transportation, parental time off from work and time away from school, which may prevent a family from accessing the mental health care they need."
Gartner said the school district doesn't have staff members who provide therapy services.
"Neither our school psychologists nor our social workers provide therapy services," he said. "Our school social workers are only permitted to provide indirect services, meaning they can only refer families to outside resources for assistance."
Gartner said they have no way of knowing how many students may need therapy services, but they hope the school-based program will help to reach students who would benefit from mental health services, including students whose needs may have gone undiagnosed.
"We do not know exact numbers of student who may be in need of on-campus mental health services," Gartner said. "Many of our students go undiagnosed. Others may already be receiving services from mental health providers in the community but parents are under no obligation to share this information with the schools. However, there has been an increase in the number of students who have these needs, and this was what started us looking at the possibilities which will be made available through this partnership."
Bass said part of that increase is that they are identifying mental health care needs at earlier ages.
"That is a key thing, identifying symptoms early," Bass said. "The younger we can identify needs, the better success we can have in treatment."
Bass said Pride in
Also in this area, the agency has worked directly with
Bass said they are still finalizing plans with the school district but they hope to start serving
There is not a cost to the schools, Bass said, and their agency bills Medicaid, private insurance or through other sources.
Reporter
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