NCSL Virtual Meetings, 19 May 2020

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From YouTube: Student Mental Health: Addressing Challenges When Schools are Closed

Description

Brandon Stratford, Child Trends and Aaron Ragon, Douglas County, CO Schools discuss the mental health challenges facing students during the pandemic. May 19, 2020.

A

Good afternoon, everyone thank you so much for joining us here at the national conference of state legislatures, where we are hosting our virtual meeting focused on student mental health. This time um we know that this is an issue that is a big concern for state legislators, and we want to bring you the latest information that we have in some tips and ideas from the speakers who will be joining us today.

A

We are so pleased to have you join us, so just a few words about the protocol for today's meeting. We want to make sure that if you, um if you are, if you, if you have yourself hidden right now, we would ask you to go ahead and turn on your video so that it feels more like an in-person meeting. Our goal is to really replicate the in-person opportunities that we would otherwise have to be getting together and to make this is discussion oriented as possible.

A

So please turn on those videos also um change your name in your tile to to illustrate your full name and your state. If you would, this really helps us also to understand who's in the meeting, to make sure that everyone who is joining us is supposed to be joining us and so that we can keep track of who's who's present.

A

Also, please mute your audio unless you're speaking, there will be times when we'll ask you to open up your microphone and join in the conversation, but until then please keep your audio muted. You may also virtually raise your hand to be recognized today as well. If you have a question or if you have something that you want to contribute, we also encourage you to type your questions into the chat box on the right side of your screen and please do not share your screen under any circumstances.

A

We just want to make sure that we are looking at the things you're supposed to be looking at also remind her that this is a recorded meeting and it will be archived on our youtube channel as well as on our website, and the slides that we use today will also be posted or any additional resource materials. We think would be helpful so before we get started today, we wanted to encourage you to chatter in the chat box. So please let us know what state you're from and what is your top concern about student mental health?

A

When schools are closed, we want to know what's top of mind for you. What are your biggest concerns? This will help inform our discussion today will also help us think about how we can best disseminate information to all of you, as we are um thinking through our plans for our work with you over the next six nine six months, nine months, 12 months, 18 months, so we're just gonna. Give you a moment to do.

A

That and please continue to type in the chat box, what state you're from and your top concern about mental health as we go ahead and get started with our meeting. So this time, I'm going to introduce you to ashley wallace who oversees our work on after school, social, emotional learning, student, mental health, school climate.

A

um She is going to be our moderator for today. So at this point I will turn it over to you. Ashley.

B

Great hello, everyone. um I am a program director with the education program and I oversee or work around after school summer learning, social, emotional learning, whole child and then also student, mental health from the from the school and education perspective. Just want to give you a quick overview of our agenda for today's meeting. um Our first speaker will be dr brandon stratford of child trends.

B

He'll talk about the research, what the research says and what some of the policy making around this issue has looked like look like and then we'll have some a chance for some questions. Our second speaker will hopefully be aaron reagan, he's having some technical difficulties, but hopefully we'll get him in.

B

He is with the douglas county school district he's a lead counselor there and he'll send an on-the-ground perspective and then we'll take another round of questions and then we'll hear from austin reed who's, um ncl's education, committee, director and he'll talk about the federal relief funds um and then we'll close with michelle, giving you an overview of our upcoming meetings so to introduce our first speaker, dr brandon stratford is the deputy director of education research at child trends.

B

He has a strong um background in youth mental health, having worked as a clinical social worker in both a community and in a school setting and I'll turn it over to brandon brandon. If you want to go ahead and share your screen.

C

All right um can everybody hear me: okay,.

C

Is that a yes? Yes, I see it's shaking all right. um So thank you so much for this opportunity to join you all today and thank you to those of you who I'm sure, have busy schedules and found time to carve out to talk about this important topic. um Just a little.

D

C

More background about me is that I used to be a school social worker and.

E

C

That I was an elementary school teacher, so I've worn a couple of different hats within schools and the education field. um So I am excited to get to talk about all that today and I'm gonna see. Let's see if my slides come up here.

C

um So while that is hopefully happening, um ashley can you all see my slides.

B

C

All right so to get started. I also just want to share a little bit more about child trends where I work so child trends has been around for about 40 years and we've become the nation's most respected source in terms of research and data on children.

C

We cover a broad range of topics from early childhood development, child welfare, school health and the list goes on. I won't keep going on about that because I know we have a lot of great information to get to, but I hope you'll visit our website and check out all the different topics that we cover. We definitely hope to be a resource for legislators to share information that really can be translated into policy and practice.

C

So now, let's get started on our topic of student, mental health that everybody's here, for um so you can see here some national data from the cdc uh this was collected before covet 19. Obviously, but you can see that even before that many students were experiencing symptoms of depression and an alarming percentage of students also reported having made a suicide plan, you can also see the little white arrows indicate changes that have happened since 2007.

C

So, while 2017 is the most recent data, you can see that um these numbers unfortunately have been going up over time, and I would encourage you, there's a link there and I'm sure we can share it later. But I would definitely encourage you to go to that link and check out the trends report. There's a lot of other information there about various risk, behaviors um that I'm sure will be of interest to all of you.

C

So what's happening now. Well, it's a little hard to say exactly what's happening now, because it's pretty recent and also there's a lot of technology issues related with collecting data, since students aren't in schools anymore.

C

But some data that we do have comes from some of our friends at everfi and they send out a survey to about 11 000 students to ask them how they're feeling- and they ask them specifically to share how they've been feeling now compared to prior to covet 19- and you can see here that approximately half of students reported that they're feeling more isolated, more stressed and about one in three are more concerned about their mental well-being than they were prior to covet 19..

C

So this isn't exactly surprising. We could imagine that this is what's going to happen. I'm sure all of us are also feeling isolated and stressed, and maybe a little bit more worried about our mental well-being, but it is striking to see just how significant a toll it's taking on students across the country.

C

So when we talk about what students are experiencing, we really need to place it in the context of um you know what they've experienced before coven 19 and also some of the additional adversities that might be happening now as a result of covert 19..

C

um So you can see here this image kind of demonstrates some of the adverse childhood experiences that people often talk about and again a lot of students were experiencing all of these prior to covet 19, but.

A

I do want to highlight that there is.

C

Reason to believe that some of these adverse experiences are even more common now or perhaps happening with more intensity, there's some research from natural disasters that suggest that things like child maltreatment and domestic violence. We see an uptick in those things when folks are experiencing a trauma, especially now when folks are kind of quarantined at home.

C

There are some additional stressors that can be occurring within the home, so it's important to recognize that those sorts of things might be happening more often to students, and also also for those students for whom that was a problem already. It might be more intense. We also know food insecurity and homelessness. We've seen those stories about food, pantries and long lines.

C

So we just need to really keep in mind that there is a lot going on that can contribute to um to some of the adversity that we're seeing students reporting and also realize that there are a lot of groups that have been experiencing undue burden. um You know a lot of groups based on discrimination and institutional racism might already have been bearing a larger burden of adverse experiences. So we need to pay particular attention to those groups, as schools are really thinking about how they can support everyone.

C

E

Want to take a little bit of.

C

Time just to note that adverse experiences does not equal trauma. Sometimes people use those terms interchangeably, and I want to make sure that we don't do that here. um Adverse experiences increase the risk of experiencing trauma, but they do not necessarily um predict that that will happen and there's a number of different things that we know can contribute to um how adverse experiences might show up in terms of their relationship with trauma.

C

The two important things that I want to know today is that caring relationships with supportive adults and opportunities to learn and practice coping skills are two of the things that we know can really reduce that risk. That adversity will lead to trauma, and the good news is that schools really are a great place for students to experience those two things and, in fact, that's part of what we're going to be talking about today. As I talk a little bit more about what is the role that schools can play in supporting student mental wellness.

C

So, as I just mentioned, schools really do have the potential to help support students experiencing adversity, and I would actually say that I think one of the consequences that we've seen with coven 19 is that people are recognizing that's the case. There might have been in the past. Some push back saying.

C

No schools really need to be about academics, but I think we all realize that schools do have a role to play in terms of mental wellness and helping students work through trauma, and so I think that might be a silver lining that people are really realizing that this is something that we need to pay attention to and really make sure that schools are equipped.

C

So when we're thinking about how to equip schools and what schools can do, um hopefully many of you have heard of of mtss or pbis. It's basically. This idea that there should be a multi-tier system of support that not everybody needs all the same resources, um and so when you.

E

Look here you can see.

C

That there are three different levels that we generally talk about, that universal level, which is really the sort of things that are going to benefit all students, that's more of that kind of mental health promotion and helping students to learn skills that will help them to deal with stressors.

C

Tier two is those more targeted supports where maybe somebody's been identified, as maybe being a higher risk. So you know we we create small groups or other interventions that can really avoid them getting to the point where that is a more serious issue and then tier three are those intensive services like individual therapy, and you can see here. I've noted that, mostly for tier three and tier two, it's mental health and health professionals that are delivering those interventions in schools, but for tier one.

E

It really can be everyone.

C

uh Sel programming is an example where classroom teachers- everybody has a role to play in that.

C

So it's also important to note that not every school has mental health clinicians. So we need to think about that, as we think about what schools can do to support student. Mental wellness um we'll talk a little bit later about telehealth and those opportunities, as well as the importance of connecting with community organizations that really can fill that gap for schools that don't have mental health professionals.

C

But the good news is that lots of schools already are doing things in the tier one realm with respect to sel programming, and the other great news is that we actually have evidence that it can be effective, especially when it comes to teachers. We know that teachers can be effective at delivering sel that can in fact improve mental health symptoms for students, as well as increase their skills.

C

So again, when we think about, is this the right role for teachers?

C

I won't run through all these statistics, but suffice it to say that teachers actually do see this as part of their role, and not only do they see this as a part of their role, but they really want to be better equipped because they don't actually feel well prepared to do that.

C

um For example, you can see up at the top that in this survey of 8 000 educators, 70 said they didn't feel well prepared to address trauma, even though 98 said they thought that teachers really should be prepared to do that. um This other survey found that mental health was the number one topic that educators want more training on.

C

So it's really important to keep in mind that this isn't necessarily a battle we need to fight, but actually it's a team effort and a lot of people do understand the important role that schools can play and see the need to better equip our educators.

C

um So while it does make sense that we do want to train teachers, uh we also lack compelling evidence about how to equip educators to address trauma and mental health.

C

Some colleagues and I recently evaluated a number of different publications related to trauma and what we found is. There was a lot out there about what teachers might need to know in terms of trauma and mental health, but there wasn't actually a lot of evaluation of whether the way we try and share that information with educators was effective, and I think it's really important to pay attention to that, because we don't want to be spending our limited time and resources on trainings that we don't know are actually going to be effective.

C

um So talk a little bit more about that later. When we get to the opportunities.

E

C

I just wanted to really flag that we.

E

Don't necessarily.

C

Need to wait if there is not a lot of evidence. We know that this is probably going to work, but we really need to collect data, so we can understand what are the most effective ways to get that training out to teachers.

C

So now we come to some of the interesting stuff related to policy, um and I hope that we get a good discussion going about what you all are doing in your states um and and what the opportunities are there. So I will say that a lot of the slides that I'll be sharing here come from work that my colleagues have done with a number of other organizations, including nasby, to look at state level health policy in schools, so that policy scan ended during the 2017-18 school year.

C

We're actually re-updating that right now, so we'll have some updated numbers later. But I do want to just mention that in case you look at your state and think it ought to look a little differently, it's possible, um but hopefully this does give you a good picture of some of the things that are happening across the country.

C

So we'll start off with seo- and I guess the main message here is the darker, the blue, the more that is happening. So um it's good news here. Lots of states have a lot that they're doing in terms of seo in the policy realm um I'll caveat that just because we always we know that policy is an important first step, but we also need to follow that up with resources and ensure that quality implementation is happening at the district and school level. um So it's great that we've got these policies.

C

um Next steps would be to make sure they're well funded.

E

C

Make sure that we're looking at the quality to which things are being implemented.

C

So, in the interest of time, we'll move along this one relates uh directly with what I was mentioning in terms of training.

C

So it's not a surprise that teachers are saying they don't feel well equipped, because when we look at the percentage of states that have addressed these topics in their professional development for educators, hopefully you can read this. The text might be a little small, but the.

E

Two that were.

C

Interested are actually at the top trauma, informed practices, training and mental health training, and you can see that the blue bars are the percentage uh for the number sorry of states, which also includes the district of columbia.

C

um The number of states that have addressed these topics in terms of professional development for educators, and we can see those numbers are much lower for trauma and farmed practices and mental health than they are for all the other topics. Really um suicide prevention policy is also lower, but so, as you.

B

Can see there's really.

C

Room to grow and again teachers are really calling for it and asking for that. So I will give you a quick example.

C

So wisconsin is one of the states that does have something on the books in terms of mental health training and they actually address several different things, including training, around screening and brief interventions and referrals to treatment, so making sure that teachers know how to refer a student who they think might be in distress. um They also specifically call out trauma-sensitive schools and youth mental health. First aid, so just wanted to share a specific example from one of your fellow states and so we'll move on to staff wellness, which I hadn't necessarily addressed earlier.

C

But it really is a critical piece and again, I think we see stories all over the news now about staff wellness and teachers and worrying about teachers. So.

E

While we're worried about.

C

Students and their families we're also worried about teachers, and we know when teachers are burnt out or don't pay attention, or we don't pay attention to their wellness.

C

You know it's hard, it's much harder for them to do their job, and especially during these challenging times, where they're also worried about their students and their own personal lives.

C

So, unfortunately, you can see here, there's a lot of bright blue and the light blue means states that haven't well covered this topic in their state policies. So we see a lot of room for growth here when it comes to teachers and staff wellness, and I wanted to give.

E

C

E

C

Because I think it's important there's a couple of states that I have examples from that have specifically called out staff wellness in terms of their coven 19 responses and what they're doing both now and also during re-entry. um So washington state in washington. State districts are asked to consider how they can provide flexibility so that educators and other staff can balance their needs at home. With professional responsibilities.

C

Montana recommends that school mental health teams develop plans to provide supports to staff, including post-traumatic stress syndrome. Counseling and kentucky has a guide for school mental health professionals to virtually support staff after the loss of a student faculty member or community member during copenhagen, and I bring.

E

Up these examples.

C

Partly because it just gives an example of how states really are addressing these things quickly to the best of their ability, but also these are not um merely just asking teachers to um do yoga.

E

And meditation.

C

Which are certainly helpful, but I think there is really um a requirement for for folks to think about. What can the system do to provide support to teachers, not just um encouraging them to use some of that self-care, but also really taking some of the burden off of them when that can be done?

C

One of the other areas that we're seeing changes is in terms of medicaid reimbursement for school-based services, and that's really important, because, as we.

B

F

C

Great and important first steps, but they also need to be resourced in order to be able to make it happen. So several states have begun expanding the services that they can be reimbursed for through medicaid previously um prior to 2014.

C

Only iep services typically could be reimbursed, but tms released guidance in 2014, reversing that they called it the free care reversal, but what it really means is that a lot of schools are able to now get reimbursed for health services for general education students and, as you see up there on one of the bullets, one of the main reasons that states are doing this is because they want to be able to better fund their behavioral health services for general education students.

C

I've included a link up there to the healthy students, promising futures learning collaborative. It's a group of states led by healthy schools, campaign that are really looking at. What does it take to make those changes and not only make those changes but also roll it out and have high quality implementation?

C

And then my final point in terms of policy changes is we're seeing obviously a lot of changes in telemental health.

C

um It varies by state, so medicaid is kind of leading the way in terms of how states are thinking about telehealth and telemental health because they are such a big funder of these sorts of services and cms has put out a tool kit recently to help states with this. So states don't actually need to do a state plan amendment which is required for bigger changes, but states can just choose to make these changes as long as the way that they're reimbursing for telehealth services is the same as they would for face-to-face services.

C

Some changes that states have made some states have required in person visits to begin with before moving to telehealth, and several states have waived that several states also used to require that the individual who's receiving the therapy services be in a clinic setting. um It wouldn't be with the clinician but like distance clinic settings not allowed to do it in the individual's home, and a lot of states have also waived that requirement.

C

So telehealth services can be provided in home, um so there's a link there actually to the center for connected health policy and they are actually tracking the changes that states are making in terms of their telehealth policies and I think they're updating it weekly. So if you go to that link, you'll be able to see what your state has going on and also what other states have been doing so very quickly, because I know we have other things to get to.

C

I want to run through some opportunities that I see, and um I want to start by saying, when planning to do anything, make changes. It's really critical to involve diverse perspectives um and especially to elevate the voices of communities that have been historically excluded or marginalized.

C

So I'm hoping that this really is the time to springboard forward and to not just make quick fixes, but also to think about the future and how we equip schools for supporting student mental wellness beyond just this experience with coven19 and.

A

C

Do that, and even to make those short-term changes, really we need to make sure everybody's voices are heard. um Also I'd be remiss as a former school social worker, not to mention that we really do need.

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C

Access to mental health treatment in schools, about 70 of kids in the country who do get their mental health services get them at school, and yet only one-third of schools report having or providing mental health treatment at school. So we really need to do something about that gap and one of the ways that we can think about that is encouraging community partnerships and telehealth.

C

So those are just some of the ways that we can think about. Obviously I would love for everyone to have a school social worker in their school, but when that's not possible, we do need to really think about supporting schools and finding those opportunities to make those other connections, um prioritize staff, training and staff wellness to strengthen tier one universal supports. I can't say enough about how important it is to make sure educators are equipped and again in the absence of strong evidence. We really want to encourage folks to rely on trusted sources.

C

um Homegrown, things can be great, but when it's possible, it's also nice to rely on trusted sources and not reinvent the wheel, and then we really need to be collecting data to make sure that we understand what are the effects of these trainings? Are we meeting our goals, our behavior behaviors? Changing? Do teachers feel better equipped doesn't require a partnership with a university for a randomized controlled trial.

C

It can be as simple as having principals send out surveys to teachers to ask them how satisfied they are with the training, send another one out in a couple of months and ask them if they've been doing anything different based on the training, so it doesn't have to be intensive, but we do need to collect data and understand. Are we spending our time and money wisely? And finally, we need to really think about those unintended consequences and avoid reinforcing stereotypes and perpetuating mental health stigma.

C

One of the topics that several of my colleagues focus a lot on is aces screening and really understanding that if it is, if screenings aren't appropriate, they can lead to stigmatization, um they can be misused. So we really want to think carefully things that sound like a good idea. We still need to vet them and think about the unintended consequences, because we know the mental health stigma does reduce access and we really need to address that.

C

And finally, I'll just very quickly say that child trends recently published some guidance responding to trauma through policies that create supportive learning environments and it really lays out seven principles that really align with pretty much everything. I've been saying throughout this presentation, but it's really specific to what states can do in terms of addressing trauma in school. So I'd encourage you to take a look at that because again, when it lays out, as a framework is applicable to what we've been talking about in terms of supporting mental wellness and then focuses specifically on trauma.

C

All right- and that is what I've got for you, so I'm excited to hear any questions that folks have. um I know we also have some other great speakers that I'm excited to hear from as well.

B

Great, thank you brandon. We have time for about one question before we head to the next speaker, so you can either put that in the chat box or take yourself off mute and ask a question.

B

Okay, well, um we'll we'll continue to monitor. Oh, I do see a question here from rachel heist marilyn. What is the one thing you think schools should be doing now. Great question.

C

Yeah, so what I would say really is that what schools need to do is to provide training to teachers. Teachers are um they're in students, homes now they're.

C

We didn't used to have that situation, but um teachers are in students, homes, they're, seeing what's happening at home, they're experiencing the trauma and the adversity that their students are facing, as well as their own, and so we really need to make sure that teachers unders are equipped to support mental wellness and also recognize signs of distress so that they know who in the school they should be contacting.

C

When they're worried about a student, it can be more challenging when we're not in the building and just can run down after school and check in with the nurse or the principal or the school counselor. But there really needs to be clear guidance so that teachers aren't left to wonder. Well, maybe it's nothing, but there really does need to be a plan, so the teachers feel supported in supporting student mental wellness and while setting up trainings might take a little extra time.

C

I do think that setting up those clear lines of communication and teachers, knowing what they should be doing and who they can go for go to when they have a concern, is one of the things that can help. Teachers feel less stressed and feel like it's more of a team effort that they're not in it alone. In.

B

Terms of supporting their students.

B

Great, thank you so much for in the interest of time we're going to I'm going to introduce the next speaker, and I would encourage you guys to keep um you know asking your questions in the chat box. We'll have another chance for some questions later on too.

B

Our next speaker is aaron reagan, he's the lead counselor for douglas county school district in colorado, so the suburb of uh here in denver and in this role he supports nearly 200 school counselors that work with k-12 students. He's worked as a school counselor for 13 years and I'll turn it over to erin.

E

E

E

All right is my: is my screen sharing working?

E

Can you guys hear me.

A

We can hear you um just go ahead and select to share your screen. um Oh.

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A

We aren't seeing your screen right now.

E

My theme today is uh technical difficulties.

A

That's been my theme all week so.

A

That's the fun of these live virtual meetings right.

E

Oh, it's exciting. It's exciting. I switched my wife's computer at the 11th hour and luckily that's that's working so.

E

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E

Okay, how's that.

A

E

Okay, excellent well ashley. Thanks for the introduction again, my name is aaron reagan, um just to provide a little a little snapshot of the perspective that I have um douglas county uh prioritized mental health. A couple of years ago, and uh in november of 2018, we passed a mill levy override which uh kind of funded a lot of things. But central to that initiative was uh hiring 85 additional new councillors for our our district.

E

We added an elementary counselor to every elementary school and we reduced our ratios to 250 to one at the high school level, and so, as I say this, I I recognize that we are very fortunate in this and that it's not the situation that most school districts are in. um With regard to this uh adventure in remote learning, uh we started on march 23rd the week after spring break uh the the switch to remote learning kind of represented a mad scramble at all levels.

E

There was a lot of creativity involved in this a lot of collaboration and sharing ideas. I've been particularly heartened and impressed by the efforts that my counselors have made have been really proactive, really creative at kind of tweaking their existing programming and finding innovative ways to connect with kids.

E

So, with regard to student mental health needs, we had previously identified that anxiety and depression were were the two most urgent mental health issues that our kids face. um So the remote learning environment has really intensified. Feelings of isolation and loneliness at a lot of students, um students that typically function well and in a traditional school environment we found are a little more susceptible to this.

E

um We're hearing reports that irritability, frustration, temper, tantrums and and a general theme of dysregulation are a lot more common with our kids at uh you know at all ages, k through 12. um families that have already kind of have a conflictual uh style or if they were in a difficult situation. Economic stressors have only intensified these difficulties and uh parents have reported more difficulty around school refusal on the part of students.

E

Students have reported that parents have lower frustration, tolerance, it's always funny to me how kids will tell on parents, and parents will tell on kids, um but it's been a, but it's been a struggle, um not surprisingly, uh but you know, one one bright spot is that students who historically struggle with social anxiety in a school environment have reported that they're doing much better at home and and so counselors typically spend a lot of time, supporting kids like this in a traditional school environment and they found that their caseloads have flipped and that they're now supporting kids that didn't necessarily need as much help in in a building um all right, so mental health needs.

E

um One of the first things that we had to do was establish a system of check-ins with students k-12.

E

That would help us to identify and connect with them, and so what a lot of middle and high schools did is they created bi-weekly surveys which were sent to kids?

E

Surveys, of course, are voluntary, based on the results of the surveys. If kids reported, they were having struggles, counselors reach out to them. We also receive referrals from teachers, administrators parents, other students.

E

Primarily, we've used google hangouts, but we also use zoom and of course, uh old-fashioned phone calls are great and email.

E

One of the really cool things that I've seen is that virtual groups have been created at all levels to support students. So at the elementary level we have lunch, punches many counselors hold every day around lunch time. They connect students that that are looking for that.

E

There are a number of anxiety groups that have formed and continue to roll on an ongoing basis. We have bereavement support groups which were in place before covenant have continued afterward.

E

There are open office hours that kids can pop into remotely to visit with their counselors parents, there's open office hours for them as well, and then there's been a series of evening webinars for parents as well that have been delivered at the district level and are open to any parent k through 12.

E

brandon mentioned social emotional learning. This has been an initiative and a focus in my school district counselors deliver lessons like that. They act as a consultant for helping teachers as well. There have been a number of counselors that have pre-recorded lessons that teachers share and then they also deliver these lessons live through a virtual platform um and then, of course, we have ongoing individual meetings with students.

E

um I'm not gonna, I'm gonna, I'm not gonna, go over all of this, but uh one of the things that's really been helpful in addressing student mental health needs is we have a community resource, a youth community response team. This consists of a therapist and a specially trained police officer.

E

These guys go and conduct home visits and support students who are in crisis and they have direct admit privileges to local mental health facilities and they take students in an unmarked car. It's a very humane approach and it's been incredibly successful.

E

uh We have three cities that comprise this county and we have uh four teams that cover these three cities and it's it's been a it's been a really remarkable help. Actually, in addition, we have partnerships with community mental health, centers and therapists and referrals to families are are kind of happen on an ongoing basis.

E

We've had an initiative to combat anxiety and uh that work will continue for the next couple of years.

E

There's also enhanced access to bereavement services, and this is counselor driven, although for long-term help, we are working with outside providers, we're also cobbling together training related to covid specific anxiety.

E

It seems like this thematically is going to be kind of a need on the horizon that we're going to need to uh to.

D

E

Attack um group meetings with parents has been really successful in this virtual environment. I you know sometimes it's hard to get people's attention, but especially with transition meetings. um You know a notable example would be 8th graders who are going to enter high school. We had 250 parents attend that the other night. So there's some really hopeful signs that the people aren't engaging in resources that are offered um thematically.

E

It appears that younger students have actually adapted to remote learning better than older kids. It looks like juniors and seniors are have struggled in particular with this paradigm that we're faced with.

E

So the other thing that's happened, you know with regard to trends and what's going to be needed in the future, is that we've lived in a state of uncertainty for a long, a prolonged period of time? And it's really evident to me, anecdotally and in conversations I've had that the community is collectively fatigued.

E

This is heightened people's anxiety and we're seeing it with students and parents, and you know- and our staff are also susceptible to this.

E

We do not have a clearly defined plan for what it's going to look like when we return to school.

E

A lot of this is a dynamic situation and there'll be guidance from uh our tri-county health organization, as well as cde, as well as cbc.

E

That is, gonna guide a lot of that, and so we're hoping to have some clarity on that in in the coming weeks, but it certainly doesn't do anything to help provide reassurance when, when there are these big open questions about what the fall is going to look like, um I think I think brandon did a you know mentioned adverse childhood experiences, and I think that this pandemic really does constitute that for this generation of kids.

E

So as we look at summer and fall and planning beyond that, I couldn't agree more of the trauma-informed practices and that training in schools is really critical.

E

uh Outreach to families, parents and students really needs to be robust without being overwhelming, and one of the themes we've seen in this time is that uh parents got a flurry of emails early on and it resulted in kind of uh some resentment.

E

So, there's that there's a balance in coordinating with the overall system in terms of communication and it's a delicate balance. uh You know I I'd like to just echo what brandon said about supporting school staff. This is really really critical and uh you know we. We know that a lot of our staff are concerned about uh the risks to their health and returning to school as well and so um yeah. We just we're planning for next year.

E

We have a number of presentations that we've already created that can be delivered either virtually or in person, um and so I just I wanted to kind of wrap up you guys with a with a story.

E

um I I think we, when you, when you talk about what school counselors do at the core of what they do, is they keep students safe and so.

E

About a week or two into remote learning, one of my really excellent elementary counselors one of her students had a a parent die. Unexpectedly, her mom died in her sleep and then two days later, her step-dad died by suicide and uh she lived in an apartment complex with a really tightly knit community and there's this whole group of kids that play together. They go to school together, the parents um all know each other, and so uh this school counselor went to work.

E

She uh collaborated with her social worker and school psychologist and together they they helped this young lady. um She uh her aunt, basically took custody of her. uh They supported the ant in that process and then they reached out to all of the families at this apartment complex individually.

E

They provided referrals for therapy and then they met with uh they met with the kids as a group on a bi-weekly basis, and that has continued all through the school year kind of helping them to process uh what has happened and uh and be a support to them. So uh that's been, that's been really inspirational to me to see um in in terms of policy I'm a school counselor, and many of you have this responsibility of doing this heavy lifting in this uh really challenging time.

E

uh My recommendation and it's a little bit like asking the barber if you need a haircut, hire more school counselors social workers and school psychologists arm your buildings with mental health professionals, who can advise teachers, support students and and guide parents.

E

um Also, it's it's incredibly important that we uh we support initiatives around trauma-informed care, restorative practices and social, emotional learning. So that's uh that's really what I wanted to share and I will turn the floor back over to ashley.

B

E

Stop sharing my screen.

B

Thank you so much erin. um I think we have time for another question before before I introduce um austin, I saw there's looks like there's been some great sharing of information in the chat box. um I have, I see, a question from joy, civilian erin, I'm curious. If you were a project aware grantee or safe schools, healthy students.

B

What are the key facts? What were the key factors in getting buy-in to support the infrastructure for school mental health that you have put in place.

E

That's a that's a great question. I I think the buy-in was not hard uh and- and that is because our parent community uh is particularly aware of the shift that has happened with kids uh over the last few years and and uh a personal anecdote when I started as a school counselor. Many years ago, I worked as a as a high school counselor most of my career.

E

uh The conversation that I had was with parents was around wanting their students to attend a good college, and I can tell you now that that conversation has shifted to wanting their kids to be safe um and, and that is a result of uh what I consider to be a quiet crisis.

E

I think that there is a mental health crisis. That's happened among our youth, and I think parents see it at home, and so getting buy-in for this was was not hard. This was actually the mill levy override was structured to respond to what parents wanted, and it was simply the thing that was most likely to pass.

A

Can I also weigh in on that so aaron, I'm not sure. If you're aware I'm a, I work at ncsli director education program and I'm a parent of students in dubco and um my kiddos are have been the recipients of some amazing counseling over the past year and when we were thinking of the mill levy override knowing that we wanted the funds to go to what we thought would be most impactful.

A

All of the school accountability committees took a survey of what we wanted to prioritize and I know in our middle school, in our elementary school, where my two students were out with the time mental health was a very top. We absolutely knew that we did not have enough counselors in school.

A

We down here in this part of the metro area, know have been rocked by school safety issues and know how important that's been. So it was a number one priority. Absolutely and um it's been phenomenal to see the counseling. My daughters have received lots of outreach from their school counselors during this time. So I would highly recommend to anybody on here. Look at what douglas county is doing. They're doing. Amazing stuff.

E

Thank you and thank you for supporting all of that work and for being a part of the school accountability committee. I I really appreciate it.

A

Yes, absolutely.

B

Great um I'm going to turn things over to austin reed um he's in our dc office and he's going to talk about federal relief funding for student, mental health.

D

Thanks ashley, I'm also joined by my colleague on the line by my colleague, haley nicholson, who is the senior committee director for the health and human services committee here at ncsl. She may also be able to answer some of the questions you might have just going to provide a quick overview of the federal relief funding for mental health, both through the department of education and then also through the department of health and human services.

D

So the cares act authorized a an education stabilization fund, through which at least two funding streams could be used to address mental health in schools, there's first, the governor's education relief fund, which every governor will receive a portion of and the legislation. The cares act particularly calls out the these funds can be used to provide social and emotional support to schools, and then there is also the elementary and secondary school relief fund, which is provided directly to all school districts, and the state education agency can also reserve some funds.

D

Those funds are also can be used for providing mental health services and supports in schools, and so between these two funds. I think that there is a congressional recognition that student mental health was going to be a major issue that schools were dealing with, and so you know, we've seen that written into the bill, but now we're moving into the portion where these funds are now available to governors and school districts and state agencies, and so we're moving into the stage where these funds are being implemented.

D

And ultimately, whether these are spent on student health supports is going to be determined by mostly by school districts. I think the governor's funds and the state set-aside could be used for mental health supports. I think that there's we're going to find out a lot about how these funds are going to be used over the next few months. I think there's been a significant lag time between the funds being made available and actually being deployed by schools.

D

I think one of the things that would be it was going to be interesting to watch is that there are so many needs that schools are dealing with right now. In addition to to student, mental health and there's probably more needs than these dollars can accommodate for, and I think districts are going to face some tough decisions as to how to allocate these funds. I think they've seen a lot of costs, increase costs over the last couple months with school meals and paying their employees and sanitation, technology and infrastructure.

D

So, while these things can go, student health supports can be funded. I think that we're gonna have we're gonna see how that actually plays out in districts. There isn't one dedicated funding stream to the department of education that is specific for student, mental health and that's the project serve grant program and it received 100 million dollars from the cares act and generally, this program has helped, is to help schools deal with violence and trauma that disrupts the learning environment.

D

Typically, these funds are used to help schools, school districts or state agencies deal with the effects of a natural disaster or school violence. But in this case, given the widespread effects of the pandemic, these funds could also be used to deal with that trauma.

D

I haven't heard whether these funds have been made available or not, and I don't think they are currently, but they uh will be able to be applied for by either school districts or state education agencies and then the cares act also provided 425 million dollars to the substance, abuse and mental health services administration and the breakdown of those costs are that certified community behavioral health clinics can receive 250 million dollars from those funds and there's also within that 425 million 50 million for suicide prevention and 100 million in flexible funding to address mental health which can go towards providing resources deal with youth and homelessness.

D

During this time and those funds, I believe, have started to roll out as well. So that's just a quick overview of how federal legislation could be used to support mental health in schools, and so I'm happy to answer any questions. You.

D

B

Feel free to type any questions you have for austin or any of our previous speakers either in the chat box or you can raise your hand or take yourself off the.

B

A

Hey ashley can I propose a question to the group.

B

Sure go ahead, give the photo.

A

um I would love to know the extent to which there's a conversation in your state about cutting funding for mental health services in schools. Right now.

A

Do you think that these types of supports are going to become vulnerable, as states are trying to figure out where in the world they're going to find the cuts that they need to find?

A

So if you have an answer to that, question feel free to unmute your line. Otherwise, I also see that representative mickelson janae has her hand raised. You can go ahead and unmute yourself and pose your question and respond to that as well.

F

Hi, this is state wrapped off now michaelson janae from colorado, and I was chair of the school safety interim committee. At the same time, doug coe was going through and upping their mental health supports in school and was I was trying to actually have that happen statewide, but I'm really excited that uh douglas county got to do it.

F

Nobody else did um and unfortunately, we have 3.3 billion dollars to cut out of our budget, and my social worker in schools for k-5 bill just got defunded, so that was two and a half million dollars going for social workers and school counselors in the k-5 throughout the schools throughout the state and unfortunately, we had already allocated those funds, and so schools were expecting those social workers.

F

So I can tell you in colorado, uh we've cut 90 million from the department of human services, 30 million, specifically in the behavioral health care arena, and we're not done yet. We still have two billion more to cut and it is devastating, and I am very concerned that the money that goes to schools, just from my conversations with a few school districts there- I have seven school districts in my house district, they're saying.

F

Well, you know we need to spend the money to get the kids back up to grade level, and you know, while I keep making the case that a child who is not socially and emotionally ready to learn, cannot get up to grade level there is this either unwillingness or inability to hear that um from the schools, and so it is exceptionally distressing and um erin. Maybe you can talk to this uh while we had a very high level of trauma that we were seeing in our students prior to the pandemic?

F

Now everybody has impact, been impacted by trauma, and it's interesting aaron to hear that it was mostly impacted by the 11th and 12th graders.

F

I have a 12th grader at home right now and a college uh freshman at home, so we we definitely have have felt it, but we also have a significant number of students who have disappeared, who have not checked in for attendance, um and these tend to be our kids on free and reduced lunch. These tend to be our kids with ieps.

F

So how are we going to manage creating a safe social and emotional return to self so that we can return to study? And I I'm I'm- I I'm a broken record, and anybody from colorado knows that I'm a broken record.

F

But as the former chair of the school safety interim committee, I can tell you that there's one number that I have been watching very closely since we went into stay at home orders and that is gun sales, and I can tell you by the massive increase in gun and munition sales, where I can probably guesstimate our next school shooting to happen.

F

If we do not address this appropriately.

F

So if there are any states who have recommendations on how we might be able to create either a statewide or district-wide social and emotional response to this crisis, I mean that's that's what I'm hoping the most to get out of this call, because I do believe that if we get this right, we can actually come out stronger on the other side.

F

So I'm open for many many suggestions.

E

I first of all thank you for your advocacy for counselors and social workers, and I I have no doubt that we are going to see you know what was already kind of a baseline that was um challenging.

E

You know this is going to just exacerbate that and and there's been a lot of um equity issues that have been brought forward by the pandemic in the educational arena, and I think you bring up a lot of really good points, and so the strategies have to be universal so that they reach everyone, and we need special attention given to our most vulnerable kids and families, and- and I you know just looking at unemployment uh projections of 20 and and stuff like that, I I can't even begin to imagine what the ripple effects of that are going to look like, but it's going to be significant and it's going to be in all hands on deck situation.

E

So I I do think that there's this chinese proverb that crisis is an opportunity that rides a dangerous wind. So I think, where there's crisis there is opportunity and you're right. We if we get this right, we can. We can lay something foundational down: that'll help a lot of.

E

A

Any other questions or comments.

A

Okay, um thank you everyone. I appreciate your time today, um just a reminder that we have upcoming um phenomenal virtual meetings planned for you and I'm going to switch to that slide really quickly. Just so, I can quickly show you what we have planned.

A

um We don't have a virtual meeting on friday, so please note that and then we'll continue through the end of june, with our usual tuesday, friday schedule, we will come back with a discussion around learning, loss and approaches to summer learning and on that friday, we'll have an update on folks who are working on guidance for schools for reopening, and hopefully you all will bring information from your own state on what that guidance looks like if you've released any yet and then we'll pivot a bit and start to look at lessons from around the world.

A

What is it that other countries are doing? How have they responded to this crisis and what are some of the lessons that we might gain from their experience and um we're going to be talking with school district leaders and hear from them and what they need from all of you and what it looks like on the ground for them and then we're going to turn our attention to teachers and we're going to focus for two days on teacher workforce. um How do we think about recruiting and preparing them right now and supports for classroom teachers?

A

And, of course, I think a lot of this conversation will come back there. We're gonna have a virtual meeting on early learning and honest what assessments might look like this fall to gauge some of that learning loss and then, at the very end of the month, we're going to have an update on state revenue, forecasts and tracking the state and federal spending and any additional federal funding.

A

That's coming into the states, hopefully by then we'll have a really clear picture of um where the states are at with their budgets and some of the tough decisions they're having to make and how that might impact education. Budgets and then we're going to end with an important discussion around evidence-based policy making.

A

We know that right now, there's a lot of information floating out out and about, and how is it that you can sift through that and find the information and the research about what works best so that you can make informed decisions and arguments as you are moving through the difficult process that you have that lies ahead to address your budget for this next year and possibly during your session next year, as you're addressing the next year's fiscal fiscal year.

A

So I think that will be really helpful and you'll meet our new director of evidence-based policymaking at ncsl and learn about our center, where you can get lots of resources to help you. Thank you for your time today we appreciate you joining us and we will be back again together on tuesday may 26th, for the discussion on learning, loss and summer learning approaches. Thank you and have a good.

A