School districts that help students receive mental health and healthcare treatment create safer, more inclusive learning environments. By making care accessible, reducing stigma, and fostering early intervention, students are empowered to thrive both emotionally and academically, ultimately benefiting families, schools and society at large.
KENNETT, MO / ACCESSWIRE / October 22, 2024 / Kennett School District 39 (Kennett), a rural school district in the Missouri Bootheel, received a grant through Project AWARE to hire a coordinator to connect students in need of mental health services. They immediately experienced positive results with CrossTx, a HIPAA-compliant referral management platform.
As Morgan Blankenship, ED. S., Project AWARE care coordinator for Kennett, explained, "One of our students, let's call her 'Lucy,' faced significant behavior challenges and found it difficult to stay in class for even an hour without being sent to the office. Thanks to our new student referral system, she was able to start mental health services, which led to extraordinary strides. Now, Lucy is able to attend school all day and fully participate in classroom activities alongside her peers. This transformation is a testament to her hard work, the availability of our referral system, the dedication of our school staff, and the invaluable support from the behavioral health agency. It highlights the critical role of mental health resources in fostering student success. We are incredibly proud of her and excited to see Lucy's continued growth."
Schools often struggle to integrate behavioral health services into the educational environment. Although many schools recognize the importance of addressing mental health, few have comprehensive programs to integrate these services. On-site services, such as counseling or therapy, are often limited, leading to reliance on external providers. Kennett School District had similar challenges. Initially, the district faced difficulties with workflow, communication, and recordkeeping, which resulted in students missing vital services. Often, staff lacked clarity on whether students had received services or made progress.
The team at Kennett Schools reached out to the Missouri School-Based Health Alliance to find a solution. This resulted in a partnership with Healthy Blue to access funding for a cloud-based software and training solution implemented and delivered by CrossTx, a care coordination and referral management platform used by rural health clinics, health networks, and school districts around the country.
Kennett engaged with CrossTx to implement a closed-loop referral management collaborative care coordination program for the school district in what became known as Project AWARE.
Blankenship praised the solution to date. "CrossTx has proven to be an invaluable program for our district, effectively ensuring that no student falls through the cracks. Through this platform, I can easily send referrals to the agency, which allows for prompt appointment - scheduling and provides us with essential tracking information, such as attendance, no-shows, transportation needs, and agency notes."
According to Chandra Donnell, Vice President of Client Success for CrossTx, the program has been a successful start. "As a society, there is still plenty of work to make our schools safer and more supportive of the mental health needs of our students. I am, however, excited to be a part of the transformational process that supports our teachers' natural ability to notice behavioral changes and thereby advance early intervention before problems escalate. Many educational leaders work tirelessly to reduce the stigma of mental health and create supportive networks in their schools; our software uses these networks to increase access to services while tracking supportive data to highlight progress. Without the data and feedback, schools don't fully understand the impact of their programs, an integral part to optimizing successful outcomes for students."
The dedication of many individuals helped create Kennett School District's positive results for students like Lucy. Their continued success is a model for American school districts determined to support their students' health and wellbeing.
About Kennett School District 39
Kennett School District is in a rural area of the Missouri Bootheel. It has received grant funding to implement a care-coordinated, referral management program with local behavioral health practices.
About CrossTx Inc.
A cloud-based, HIPAA compliant platform supporting bi-directional and multi-directional referral management and care coordination specialized in school, community, and healthcare workflows.
Contact Information
Chandra Donnell
VP Client Success
chandra@crosstx.com
406.595.1326
SOURCE: CrossTx
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