School-based mental health services on the rise in Beaver County

Aug. 24--When Beaver County's school districts opened their doors last fall, only two offered on-site mental health care services for students.

By the time students leave for winter break this year, that number will have more than quadrupled.

Last fall, Western Pennsylvania Psych Care's partnerships with the Aliquippa and Ambridge Area school districts were in full swing. Students at Aliquippa Junior-Senior High School and Ambridge'sHighland Elementary could access on-site individual and group counseling sessions just a few steps from their classrooms.

Since then, Big Beaver Falls Area, Blackhawk, New Brighton Area, Rochester Area, South Side Area and Western Beaver have finalized agreements with mental health care providers. Zelienople-based Glade Run Lutheran Services opened its first Beaver County school-based office in Beaver Falls High School last spring, and Family Behavioral Resources will be on-site at Western Beaver Junior/Senior High School this fall.

Freedom Area hasn't yet inked a deal with a provider, but is in the process of selecting one, Superintendent Jeff Fuller said. The district hopes to have services on campus before winter break.

School-based mental health partnerships allow providers to set up state-licensed outpatient clinics in qualifying school buildings at no charge to the district. In exchange, the district supplies the provider with office space in the building. This gives children convenient access to care either before, after or during the school day. WPPC, Glade Run and FBR provide a range of individual, group and family counseling options depending on each district's needs.

Treatment referrals can come from school staff or a child's parents. Payments are handled through a family's insurance provider.

School-based mental health services are fairly new to Beaver County -- Aliquippa piloted the county's first program in 2011 -- but therapists have been working out of Allegheny County schools for about 20 years, said Alexandra Salcido, Glade Run's Beaver County director of family support and clinical services.

Giving therapists access to students during the school day can help them address behaviors or identify stressors that only manifest themselves during the school day, Salcido said. It also eliminates treatment barriers, such as transportation access, that some families might encounter.

"We're moving toward a model ... where we try to make things as convenient as possible," she said.

Aliquippa and Ambridge have reported that WPPC's services have made a difference for the students who attend counseling sessions, said Heather Morrow, director of child and adolescent behavioral and rehabilitative health services at WPPC. Both districts have reported decreases truancy and principal's office referrals and improvements in grades.

"We've had some nice outcomes," Morrow said. "Even a decrease in physical fights. If something's escalating, (the conflict) can be diverted to us."

Therapists help students with a wide range of issues including depression, ADHD, mood disorders and trauma associated with divorce or death in the family, Salcido said.

"We run the gamut," she said.

South Side and New Brighton, both of which have partnered with WPPC, and Beaver Falls launched satellite offices in their high schools last spring. Blackhawk, Rochester and Western Beaver, working with Glade Run, WPPC and FBR, are set to have school-based mental health services available for students this fall.

Once a school district requests services through a specific provider, the district must petition the state to become a licensed satellite outpatient clinic. That process, which involves submitting occupancy and fire inspection reports and receiving a tour from state licensing representative, can sometimes take several months to complete.

This was the case for Blackhawk, which will have all four of its academic buildings licensed as outpatient clinics this year. This district spent the majority of the 2015-16 school year working on the licensing process, said Korin McMillen, the district's special-education coordinator and a school psychologist.

In Beaver County, schools also function as the centers for education and community, so it seems natural to have important health services available there, Western Beaver Superintendent Rob Postupac said.

"This is tearing down the barrier of 'I can't get my child to a therapist,'" Postupac said, adding that setting up therapy offices within the school also removes obstacles for parents who may not know where to take their children for such services.

Aliquippa and Ambridge have plans to expand their programs this fall. WPPC is finalizing state licensing for Ambridge's high school, junior high and two additional elementary schools, and Aliquippa's program has been expanded to its elementary school.

Both districts offered therapy sessions over the summer out of the Aliquippa and Highland elementary buildings, Morrow said. The four-week program allowed students the opportunity to participate in group or individual counseling during summer break.

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