The Labette Center for Mental Health Services MHIT (Mental Health Intervention Team) Schools returned to Parsons USD 503 this school year, allowing it to continue to make a difference in students’ lives.
Parsons USD 503 was one of nine schools to first pilot the MHIT program in the 2018-2019 school year as a part of the state’s response to growing mental health concerns throughout the state.
Schools statewide were reporting increased social emotional needs of students, at younger ages and within families. An increasing number of students across the state had expressed behaviors, such as suicide ideation, anxiety, depression or anger, which impact their ability to learn, cope with stress and establish a foundation for success in life. Often the inability of a few students to regulate behavior negatively impacts the entire classroom.
Through MHIT Schools, therapy staff and case management staff is implanted directly into the school settings and works together with staff to provide care to at-risk youth within the school system.
The positive outcomes from the pilot led Kansas lawmakers to scale up the program from the original nine districts in the 2018-2019 school year to 90 districts in 2023-2024.
“It brings mental health services into the schools so that students are not missing a half-day or a full day of school to receive needed services,” said John Calvert, head safety specialist for The Kansas State Department of Education’s Safe and Secure Schools Unit. “MHIT brings mental health services, group therapy, and case management into the schools so that Kansas students aren’t faced with missing additional class time.”
Calvert said one of the best aspects of MHIT has been the removing of the stigma around asking for mental health help. He said students also encourage their peers to seek out help as well. “The fact that we have students who are still here because of the program shows that it’s working,” he said in a recent report.
There have been many positives witnessed in USD 503 since the program's implementation.
“I get to see firsthand what a difference the MHIT has made,” stated LCMHS’s Community Based Services (CBS) Director Jessica Ramsey, a licensed specialist clinical social worker (LSCSW). “We have a wonderful team of individuals that work very well together in both USD 503 and USD 506 and know how to access services immediately. MHIT has been proven to improve school attendance, improve behavior, improve grades, and initiate mental health services that are needed by the student that wouldn't otherwise know about our services. With MHIT in the schools, we are able to help lessen the barriers for students and their families to access services more efficiently and most of the time, without having to leave school to receive those services.”
The USD 503 team includes School Based Therapist Colton Richards, a licensed masters level psychologist (LMLP); School Based Case Manager Jodi Lankford; CBS Specialist Chelsea Thomsen; and CBS Attendant Care Mason Waun. Ramsey said they serve anywhere from 140-180 youth in Parsons between therapy and case management.
"I really enjoy working with our USD 503 school-based therapy program. I’ve seen that it has made a real difference with the children we work with. The program was intended to help students with grades, attendance, and more effective interpersonal relationships. This, in combination with the ability to collaborate with different school personnel and less time outside of the classroom leads to better ability to deliver the person as a whole approach to services. Over the past five years, while I’ve been a therapist in this program, I’ve noticed that we’ve been able to target these areas effectively. On top of that, my favorite part of the program is that we’ve been able to target and identify concerns early and provide intervention earlier than if identified solely outside of a school setting,” Richards said.
With MHIT in the schools, staff are able to help lessen the barriers for students and their families to access services more efficiently, as most youth receive services at school, as part of their school day. This collaboration with the school systems helps Labette Center work towards overcoming some other barriers to care that may exist, such as parents’ inability to leave work for their child’s appointment or transportation issues.
Improved mental health standings have positive ripple effects in other aspects of students’ personal lives and academics. For example, to learn, students need to be in class. Improved mental health often improves attendance. State data estimates that student attendance rates following participation in the MHIT program improved absenteeism by over 33%, which has lent to the overall improvement in chronic absenteeism in the district. Better attendance can lead to better grades.
"The MHIT program has been one of the most successful collaborations between Labette Center and USD 503 in my 34 years of experience at Labette Center,” said LCMHS Executive Director Matt Atteberry, LSCSW. “Being able to bring highly trained and experienced staff from Labette Center into the school environment, provide the care to the students there, and perhaps most importantly, provide the crisis intervention sometimes needed on site is wonderful. Equally wonderful are the positive outcomes that have been documented year after year as a result of this collaboration with school administration and staff."
It is hoped by all involved that the program receives needed funding for it to continue to make a difference for Parsons students and staff. Funding for MHIT positions has been provided by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.