Mental health program begins in local schools this year
Decatur DailyAug 19, 2021
Aug. 19—A mental health program purchased with COVID relief funds is being implemented in
The school systems will use the Rhithm app, which allows students in grades K-12 to check in with counselors and social workers to update them on their emotional and mental state each day.
"This app gives us access to each child every day," said
The app contains over 25 one- to three-minute video lessons designed to address the input from students. All students enrolled in
Each morning, every student will log on to the app in their homeroom. It will ask them questions about their mood and sleep patterns, and administrators, teachers and mental health workers will be able to see their answers.
The app is designed to provide students with strategies to deal with the problems they identify.
"Based on their choices, we will be able to monitor them more closely," said social worker
Kitchens is the countywide social worker for
The federal funding comes from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, signed into law in December, which provided
Smith and the school board used
"It's expensive, but you can't put a price tag on mental health," he said.
"What we have purchased through the ESSER II funds is access to mental health resources," Hayes said.
Those resources include partnering with American Behavioral in
— wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.
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