ICCSD Learning Supports: Mental Health

1. ICCSD Learning Supports: Mental Health Coreen Frank, M.S.Ed. Coordinator of Mental Health Services Iowa City Community School District

2. Overview of Presentation • Introduction • Learning Supports Framework • Supports available for students • Mental Health specific supports • Other Learning Supports • Connections & K-6 Kirkwood Program • Next steps

3. Learning Supports Framework • The district has been providing various Instructional (or Learning) Supports over the past 15 years, but with the Safe Schools Healthy Students (SSHS) federal grant that was received in 2008, the district was given the opportunity to assess and develop a more systemic approach. • Provides supports for students with & without IEPs • Development of this system wide approach to supporting student learning continues in three major areas: • District Wide Systems of Support • Building Level Programs & Staff • Partner Agency Support Services

4. Learning Supports Model Instruction Classroom Teaching & Enrichment Student Continuum Motivationally ready and able to learn Encounters some barriers Encounters manybarriers Increased Learning & Achievement Barriers to Learning Learning Supports

5. District-Wide Systems of Support • Student Support Teams • Process for instructional support staff, administrators, teachers, AEA, parents, and community resources to identify students with concerns, meet as a team, and determine interventions and supports. • Coordinate with individual IEP teams

6. District-Wide Systems of Support • Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) • District-wide decision making framework that guides selection, integration, and implementation of the best evidence-based academic and behavioral practices for improving important academic and behavior outcomes for all students.

7. District-Wide Systems of Support • Coordination of Services • District-wide positions provide administrative oversight, professional development, and collaboration with community partners, building principals, teachers and other district staff. • Includes Director of Health & Student Services, Youth and Family Development Coordinator, Mental Health Services Coordinator, Homeless Liaison, and Clinic Coordinator • Partner with other ICCSD departments including Special Education

8. Supports available for students • Mental Health specific supports: • Coordinator of Mental Health Services • Student & Family Advocates (SFA) • School-based Mental Health Psychiatry Services • School-based Therapy Services • School-based Substance Abuse Services • Other Learning Supports: • School Guidance Counselors • School Nurses • Health Kids Community Cares (HKCC) School-based Health Clinic • Student Advisory Center/Juvenile Court Liaisons

9. Mental Health Specific Supports • Coordinator of Mental Health Services • Support development of comprehensive mental health services within the district • Manage partner agency support programs • Supervise SFA staff • Building level consultation & resource for questions/concerns • Allocation of available funding for services

10. Mental Health Specific Supports • Student & Family Advocates (SFA) • Previously known as Family Resource Centers (FRC) or Mental Health Case Managers • Every building has an SFA & they are available to support any student/family in the building • Referrals to SFA come from everywhere • Liaison between families and school, facilitating parent engagement and involvement with the school, and assist teachers to connect and develop relationships with parents. • Connect students and families to school & community resources, including supports for: basic needs, mental & physical healthcare, homelessness, parenting, etc.

11. Mental Health Specific Supports • School-based Psychiatry Services • Offered through the Healthy Kids Community Care Clinic • Open to all students in the district that are uninsured or need expedited access to psychiatric care. • Staffed by UIHC Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist (Dr. Nancy Beyer) • Provides psychiatric evaluations and medication follow-up appointments 2 mornings per month in the Healthy Kids Clinic. • UIHC provides this service at a reduced rate. • UIHC Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Resident Educational Rotation • Core & Elective options (Elective option is new this year) • Core - Resident is available to observe; offer feedback, thoughts, suggestions, resources; participate in multi-disciplinary team meetings; consult generally about cases. • Elective – Includes components of Core Rotation plus, Resident is available for psychiatric evaluations, medication follow-up, and psychotherapy all under the direct supervision of Dr. Beyer.

12. Mental Health Specific Supports • School-based Therapy Services • Interagency agreements & contracts exist with two agencies to provide BHIS & therapy on-site to students who would otherwise be unable to access these services &/or have a need for these supports during the school day. • Four Oaks serves City, SE & Tate • Family Systems serves all our elementary schools, NW, NC & West • These agencies won their contract through a competitive bidding process that was completed so we are better able to control the many agency staff that come & go from our buildings. • This was not done to limit a parent’s choice of provider - parents should never be told that they have to use the provider on-site but rather that one option is for therapy or BHIS is to access the school-based contracted providers as appropriate. • Agencies bill insurance when available; some HKCC funds are available to cover students who are uninsured. • Part of the SFA staff role is to coordinate & provide oversight to the school-based mental health services in their building(s). • Establishing a pattern for checking in with families about school-based mental health services & how things are going. • This is in addition to the required family communication that your provider is doing as part of BHIS or therapy services.

13. Mental Health Specific Supports • School-based Substance Abuse Services • Mid-Eastern Iowa Council on Chemical Abuse (MECCA) • District-wide consultation services • Substance Abuse Counselor available to secondary students for assessment, counseling and education. • On-site individual counseling, groups, crisis consultation & evaluation at Tate and TREC through a contract with the district.

14. Connections Program& K-6 Kirkwood Program • Connections Program • Developed to support 7-12 grade students who had increased levels of internalizing behaviors that were impacting their ability to be successful in the traditional educational environment • Serves students with & without IEPs • History of program development • Currently part of TREC programming • K-6 Kirkwood Program • Partnering with Special Education Department to develop programmming • Similar goal as Connections to serve students with increased levels of internalizing behaviors • Serve only students with IEPs

15. Next steps • Opportunities for Professional Development with ICCSD staff & partner agencies • Opportunities for Parent Education • Connect to the SFA who serves your student’s building for individual support • Development of integrative programming for students with mental health or social-emotional-behavioral concerns continues to evolve • Increase data driven decision making & outcomes that specifically connect mental health support to student learning • Feedback on district-wide programming efforts in the area of Mental Health: • Coreen Frank • Frank.coreen@IowaCitySchools.org • 688-1000 ext. 2683