January 23, 2023 4:20 a.m.
The Douglas Education Service District will use nearly $7 million in federal funding to expand school-based mental health care in the 13 component school districts it serves in the county.
The funds are part of nearly $20 million coming from the U.S. Department of Education to hire additional licensed mental health providers in four Oregon school districts.
Douglas ESD is getting $2,236,382 for fiscal year 2022. It will receive a total of $6,808,215 through 2025. An ESD release said this will play a critical role in expanding mental health care, and is over 71 percent of the total dollars that will be used in collaboration with other programs.
Superintendent Analicia Nicholson said, “The increased services will positively impact our students, families, staff and community, providing immediate and long-term needs”.
The funds are intended to recruit, train and retain school-based mental health service providers, as well as increase the diversity and cultural/linguistic competency among providers.
Approximately 13,000 students are enrolled in the districts that Douglas ESD serves. Currently it employs 12 staff members in the behavioral health services department. This team is responsible for providing mental health support for nearly 50 percent of these students.
The release said the grant funds will expand Douglas ESD’s Grow Your Own Program to eliminate barriers for professionals interested in becoming trained or retrained as a school-based mental health provider. This approach will integrate classroom learning with real-world experience by funding the graduate education through Bushnell University and simultaneous employment of a cohort of up to 15 clinical mental health counseling students to serve youth throughout the 13 school districts within the ESD service area. The goal of the educational training is to increase the number of available school-based mental health providers in this area.
This spring ESD and Bushnell will begin the process of recruiting individuals to participate in the program. 3 informational sessions will be planned around the county where details about the program will be made available to interested applicants.