Leaders of the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) and the Department of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education plan to hold a roundtable with Guilford County Schools on Wednesday, April 24, to discuss the “importance of school-based resources in improving physical and behavioral health outcomes for North Carolina children and families.”
NC DHHS now has a lot of money to spend on the problem: It obtained $835 million that’s meant to transform behavioral health care in North Carolina, and $80 million of that money is specifically targeted toward children and family well-being.
Of those funds, this year, NC DHHS plans to invest $7 million in services –such as school-based telehealth enhancements – to make sure that all students have more access to behavioral health support and treatment.
In order to help determine the best way to use that money, there will be a “Guilford County Schools Roundtable on Improving Health Outcomes for Children and Families” that will include NC DHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley, State Health Director and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson, Guilford County Schools Superintendent Whitney Oakley, NC State Board of Education Vice Chair, Alan Duncan, and other key officials.
They’ll meet with Paul Travers, the principal of Washington Elementary, on Wednesday, April 24 to discuss the issues.
According to a press release sent this week from NC DHHS, “Guilford County Schools has been proactive in offering behavioral health in schools districtwide and adding school-based telehealth services to improve access to physical health services, particularly for students in underserved communities. This is possible through a partnership with local nonprofits, philanthropic partners, local government officials and health providers. Over the next five years, Guilford County Schools plans to invest more than $30 million to strengthen the health and wellness of students and staff through competitive federal grants and private philanthropic funding.”
State officials say the youth behavioral health crisis is growing and it is harming school functions and kids’ educations; however, they add, over 70 percent of children in the system say they don’t have access to the mental health care they need.
Schools play a big role in providing early intervention behavioral health services, however data from 2022 shows that North Carolina schools had less than 20 percent of the school psychologists and school social workers that are recommended given North Carolina’s student population.
According to the press release, the State Board of Education “operates with the understanding that student instruction and outcomes are inextricably linked to student mental health. Accordingly, the board advocates for more funding for specialized instructional support personnel, has directed millions in federal relief funding toward mental health supports, and continues to explore ways the state education authorities can support local districts and charter schools in addressing this vital student need.”
“importance of school-based resources in improving physical and behavioral health outcomes for North Carolina children and families.” Does this sound like indoctrination & forced vaccinations & medications to anyone else? If they can’t control us, they will try to control the children.
As an attendee at yesterday’s meeting, I applaud the school system for expanding an assistance for children and families. Being a Board member that questions motives and potential liabilities. I have to ask myself and the public “Do we as a school system need to enter the health care business”. “Who is liable and responsible for the actions of ones providing the assistance”. We already deny and fail to always provide information of a child’s welfare to parents. How will we insure this will not be a continuation on a larger scale. Until our legislature can clarify a parent’s right on a consistent basis across all areas particularly in healthcare. We should pause and reconsider this expansion. Alway’s, remember Guilford County Schools required and sent a child to get a Covid test at a Guilford County School. He received a vaccination of an experimental vaccine without the parents’ prior knowledge or permission. A phone call and discussion I would prefer to never have again.
I’m not sure what you’re trying to say. As a Board of Education member and former teacher, your statement is proof that education in this County is greatly lacking when it comes to clearly communicating. There needs to be a better emphasis on good writing skills and punctuation.
As to the topic of the article, given their history, Guilford County Schools have no place being involved in caring for the mental or physical well-being of our students. Based on the consistently low test scores of GCS students, I don’t feel that handling something as important as their mental health treatment is something that should be given to our school system. Actually, I don’t think that anyone but parents and a doctor should ever be the ones involved in the kid’s mental and physical healthcare.
That’s why parents should have the choice of sending their kids to a charter or private school, or home-schooling. School choice more than ever should be an option.