EV District To Seek Expanded Counseling Service
A pilot project that offers free student and family counseling in East Valley schools is proving so successful officials are talking about increasing the service next year to a full mental-health clinic in the schools.
That could involve doubling the number of counselors, now the equivalent of about four full-time positions, provided by Empire Health Services, said Mike Forness, head of the Department of Behavior Medicine at Deaconess Medical Center.
“We’ll be going back to the school board in May proposing expanded services,” Forness said.
What makes this program unusual, Forness said, is that the same outreach counselors work with students during the school day, and with those students’ parents after school and evenings. These resources are on top of the full-time counselors East Valley provides in each of its elementary and secondary schools.
Who is benefiting?
The three siblings at East Farms Elementary School whose constant behavior struggles are easing, said principal Mike Uphus.
Their progress is linked to their mother’s progress. Through help from a Deaconess counselor, their mom is connecting with agencies that can help her with day care so that she can get more education. She is also learning new parenting skills so her family can develop healthier behaviors. One child now receives medication to help with attention deficit disorder; another has glasses.
“I’m starting to see the pieces fall into place. The kids aren’t in trouble all the time,” Uphus said. “The mom is coming in sometimes with a smile on her face, versus no smile at all earlier. She’s not there yet, she’s a long ways from there, but if she continues on track, she’ll be able to develop some skills, and help her kids develop some skills.”
Who needs such services?
Children such as the angry fifth-grader at East Farms whose family tries counseling on and off, Uphus says, but never manages to resolve the core issues.
East Valley School District put up $20,000 for this year’s pilot project; Empire Health Services has contributed $60,000.
“One of the high points,” said Neal Hayden, coordinator of the East Valley Community Assistance Project for Empire Health Services, “is the way the school counselors and our counselors have come together to meet the needs of the different schools.”
One of the challenges, Hayden said, is a growing demand for the services.
“People are getting used to seeing our counselors in the school buildings and they know what they’re capable of,” he said. “Demand is outstripping our supply.”
East Valley’s distance from counseling providers in downtown Spokane meant that the underlying family problems weren’t being addressed.
The outreach counselors are theoretically available to anyone in the East Valley community. But so far, their attention is focused on students and their parents. They deal with anger management, inappropriate touching, substance abuse, parenting skills, eating disorders, depression and other issues.