Educational service district 112, a qualified independent school district located in vancouver washington, is proposing to implement an innovative school-based mental health treatment and case…

Educational service district 112, a qualified independent school district located in vancouver washington, is proposing to implement an innovative school-based mental health treatment and case coordination services collaboration project in partnership with clark county school districts, regional student threat assessment program, clark county juvenile justice, a licensed community behavioral health agency, plus involved students and their families. The proposed project area is in clark county washington, located in the southwest corner of the state, across the columbia river from metropolitan portland, oregon. The county has a population of 496,494 and is the fifth largest county in washington. There are nine school districts in the county, serving 75,341 k-12 students. The population that this project proposes to serve will come from two sources: clark county school district students involved in the juvenile justice system; and students identified through the student threat assessment process. While these two systems provide extra support, services and supervision, there are two key services that research proves are essential to make a difference for those youth: behavioral health supports and education advocacy case coordination. Only about 20 percent of the estimated 80 percent of the students in these programs receive these needed supports. This proposal will fund three full-time school-based therapists to provide behavioral health services and case coordination to support up to 100 students and their families each year. The program proposed in this application is to provide behavioral health therapy services and case coordination to an identified group of high-risk students in the most populated region of southwest washington state. Therapeutic services will be provided in a school setting, with educational case management and case coordination to increase student engagement and success and connection with other recommended community services. Three full-time therapists will be funded out of the project, each with a caseload of 20 students. IT is estimated that each therapist may serve 30-35 students each year, with a projected 300 high-needs, identified students provided intensive services that they would have not otherwise received, by the end of the three-year program.