Update given on school mental health
The Jonesboro SunMar 18, 2018
The state then contracted with a private company called
"This originally scared us to death because we had no control," Thurman said. "Fortunately, the state went with the PASSE option. It's similar to an insurance company, and we will have a voice in how these funds will be used."
Under the PASSE system, assessors will determine which tier a student is in, and the tier determines the level of care a student will get.
In Tier-1, 12 services are required every year. Tier-2 is a more strenuous regiment of mental health care. Tier-3 is designed for residential care.
About 80 percent of
In order to be assigned a tier, an
Currently, 35 assessors have checked about 5,600 students. Those who are not assessed by
"Many students will need more services, but we will not be able to intervene until they have been assessed for a higher tier," he said.
Some students would be able to move up without an assessment if the school had to use crisis intervention. However, Thurman said the student would first have to get to the crisis status, and he hopes that would never happen.
While those at
The new tiers require space for psycho-education for clients and families so they can understand what is being done to help. Tier-2 contains the broadest range of new features with crisis intervention screenings, behavioral assistance and child and youth support services.
Child and youth support services should help teachers and primary caregivers learn to better manage and teach conflict management, understanding feelings, improving social skills and improving academic engagement.
Tier-2 also provides for life-skills development for transition-age students between the ages of 16 and 20. The students who receive life-skills development will learn to properly take care of themselves through nutrition and wellness courses and vocational skill classes like filling out an application.
The program is still coming together, Thurman said, but the best thing for schools and
"I've tried to stay pretty involved, but I did not know the company was as behind as they are," McDaniel said. "I had been hearing from other companies that it has been about 75 or 80 percent into Tier-2. That is a little better than I thought it would be after being involved in some of the changes. ... It is concerning that they are this far behind, and that they will drop some clients into Tier-1.
"We as a district have had discussions about the changes, but it was nice to see what will be taking place, and the specific changes,"