A public school district in Colorado is providing free mental health services to students district-wide. Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) is using federal Covid funding to pay for the services.
"There is nothing more valuable than investing in our students’ health," U.S. Department of Education (EDU) Sec. Miguel Cardona tweeted on July 6. "Jefferson County Public Schools is providing free mental health services for students at 155 schools throughout the county using funds from the American Rescue Plan."
ESSER, funded by the 2021 American Rescue Plan (ARP) which became law on March 11, 2021, "provides a total of nearly $122 billion to States and school districts to help safely reopen and sustain the safe operation of schools and address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the nation’s students," the EDU stated in its ESSER fact sheet.
The district is using approximately $1.5 million from its third round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) reported in May. Colorado received $1.2 billion under ESSER III to "support safely reopening schools and to address the many impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on students," the CDE states in the news release; with JCPS getting $68 million from ESSER III funding.
JCPS is working with telehealth-services provider Hazel Health to assist students in developing coping and self-regulation skills to strengthen their resilience, according to the CDE report. Students can use the services at home with a parent or guardian, before or after school, and JCPS is examining the possibility of offering the services during the school day, according to the CDE.
In the first six weeks of the program, 465 students from 102 schools received counseling referrals, with 157 appointments completed. The telehealth services provided by Hazel Health are to be short-term, according to the CDE, while the company works with community organizations on addressing long-term student care.
Overall, students' schedules and routines have returned to pre-pandemic levels, but students still need support in handling the effects of isolation and worry during COVID-19, CDE stated in its report.
“If they're not coming to school in an optimal headset, it really limits what they're going to learn throughout the day," Terry Walderman, JCPS executive director of student services, said in the report. "So, we truly believe that whatever we can do to support our kids to be in a space where they can accept learning, and it's our obligation to do that.”
