- Iowa City Community School District
- Mental Health Services
Learning Supports
Page Navigation
- Learning Supports Overview
- 21st Century Community Learning Centers Information
- Before and After School Programs
- English Language Learners
- Homeless Resources
- Interpretation & Translation Services
- Mental Health Services
- Multi-Tiered System of Supports & Social-Emotional Behavior
- School Counseling Program
- Student and Family Advocates (SFAs)
- Social Academic Emotional Behavior Survey Information
Overview of Our Mental Health Services
-
Iowa City Community School District provides mental health support through a multi-tiered system of support (levels of support for all, some, few) that includes district-wide systems, building level school staff and specific services provided to students and their families through community partnerships.
Examples of Support
-
All District Staff
- Promote positive, intentional, relationship building interactions with students
- Reflect on teaching strategies and the impact on all student learners
- Commit to creating a safe and supportive culture and climate for all students
Specific Building Level School Staff
K-12 School Counselors – in all buildings
- Elementary – teach counseling curriculum which includes bullying prevention; lead small group and individual counseling and interventions; suicide response and intervention.
- Secondary – graduation progress plan and course scheduling; post-secondary planning; lead small group and individual counseling and interventions; suicide response and intervention.
K-12 Student and Family Advocates – in all buildings
- Coordination of school-based mental health services for students
- Crisis management and de-escalation support
- Suicide response and intervention
- Assistance with insurance, medication &/or healthcare access
- Advocacy with community providers, medical providers & school resources
- Parent education and support
- Individual and small group social skills instruction and/or counseling
- Teacher/school staff consultation
- Referral and connection to school and community resources
K-12 School Nurses – in all buildings
- Oversee day-to-day health issues including medication administration, first aid, emergency triage, etc.
- Provide physical and mental health screenings, ongoing monitoring, specific prescribed medical procedures and treatments
- Suicide response and intervention
- Health education for students, families and staff
- Connect students and families to school and community health resources
Universal Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources for All Students
-
SEBH Universal Screener
Universal screening of academic behavior skills, emotional behavior skills and social behavior skills for 2nd through 6th graders is done through mySAEBRS (Social Academic Emotional Behavior Risk Screener). This tool is administered through FastBridge Learning® which is the same system we use for our reading and math screeners. Universal screening for SEBH at the 7th through 12th grade level is completed with the Panorama SEL Screening tool. These tools allow us the opportunity to hear directly from students about how they are feeling, as well as, look for universal areas of need expressed across the whole student population.
-
Second Step & Steps to Respect Bullying Prevention Program
Elementary Counselors teach weekly lessons using the Second Step Social-Emotional Learning Program, which incorporates age-appropriate Steps to Respect Bullying Prevention Unit lessons. Counselors also provide information to school staff about key components of the Steps to Respect Bullying Prevention program. All three junior high schools have started using an extension of the Second Step SEL curriculum as part of their homeroom/advisory lessons.
-
GEER Grant Overview
In fall of 2021, ICCSD received a grant from the Iowa Department of Education to support our continued efforts to increase access to mental health training opportunities for staff and services available to our school community.
-
Coping Cat Curriculum for Students with Anxiety
Counselors and Student Family Advocates have access to this curriculum that can be used to teach coping skills to students that present with symptoms of anxiety. Materials can be used with individual students, as well as, with small groups of students.
Partnerships with Community Agencies to Provide Targeted Support As Needed
-
CommUnity Mobile Crisis Outreach Program
Partnership to access 24/7/365 Mobile Crisis Outreach services available in Johnson county; mental health counselors are dispatched to homes, schools, emergency rooms, or public places where a mental health crisis is occurring.
Services are voluntary and available to all staff, students and families.
-
Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team
Learning Supports Department led trained team of experts that are available to assist schools in times of crisis or after a traumatic event; district staff are trained by GWAEA in the CISM response model.
-
Dialectical Behavioral Training (DBT) in Schools
Group-based instruction and development of the following skills using the DBT curriculum: Mindfulness; Distress Tolerance; Emotional Regulation; and Interpersonal Effectiveness.
- Services provided through a partnership with UIHC Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Various opportunities available throughout our secondary schools.
- Behavioral Health Studies, a trimester long course using the DBT in Schools curriculum, was added to the high school course of study catalog for fall 2022.
-
Grief Support
Individual and group based support for students who are struggling due to losing a loved one; consultation regarding support options for families who are experiencing high levels of grief and loss.
Limited on-site services are available through a partnership with UI Child Life Department.
-
Healthy Kids School-Based Clinics
Open to all children in the county without health insurance, or with other barriers to getting care. Medical clinics operate in the schools to provide free medical care, including pediatrics, vision and dental.
- Clinic Coordinator works with families and community healthcare providers to establish a medical home, and assists the families in applying for insurance if eligible.
- Specialty care is provided by many community providers, often pro-bono or at a reduced rate.
-
Interagency Agreements with SEBH focus Overview
Updated as of February 2022; this list is always evolving and growing as we formalize additional partnerships to support our school community.
-
Mental Health Counseling
The district has multiple interagency agreements and contracts with community agencies to provide on-site mental health counseling for select students. These agencies provide limited and planful school-based therapy for individual students as determined by the school team with parent input/involvement.
Student Family Advocates and School Counselors are available to each building to provide limited support to students with mental health needs and their families, as well as connect them with mental health care providers in the community.
- Four Oaks and ChildServe partner with the school district to provide mental health counseling services to students on-site and at their agencies. These agencies bill third party payers for those with insurance. Limited funding is available to support students who are uninsured.
- As part of pandemic programming adaptations, ICCSD developed guidance for schools so families who are interested in their student participating in telehealth therapy visits could do so during the course of the school day.
- NAMI of Johnson County works with the school district to provide educational resources to staff and families.
-
School-Based Mental Health Psychiatry Services
Offered through the Healthy Kids School-Based Clinics; open to all students in the district that are uninsured or have access barriers to psychiatric care.
- UIHC Child Psychiatrist provides psychiatric evaluations and medication follow-up 1 morning/ week, in the Healthy Kids Clinic. UIHC bills third party payers for those with insurance. Limited funding is available to support students who are uninsured.
- Spanish speaking Student Family Advocate provides clinic coordination and additional support for Latino/Hispanic families who are struggling to navigate or access mental health services.
-
Social-Emotional Support and Crisis Mediation
Individual and family short term crisis intervention services provided at school or in the community by trained therapists who work to stabilize conflict situations.
Services available at all secondary buildings, with consultation provided at upper elementary, through a partnership with United Action for Youth
Community Resources & Active Partnerships
-
Mental Health Specific Partnership Examples
Mental Health Specific Partnership Examples:
- UIHC – Pediatrics & Child Psychiatry
- Four Oaks
- ChildServe
- Meadowlark Clinic
- Luminis Minds
- Abbe Center
- Healthy Kids Community Cares Health Clinic
- PIH Programming
-
Additional Partnership Examples
Additional Partnership Examples:
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Johnson County
- Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County
- United Action for Youth
- DVIP
- RVAP
- WIC & Johnson County Public Health
- Shelter House
- Catholic Worker House
- IC Compassion
-
Professional Development Opportunities Have Included
- Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS)
- Potentially Suicidal Student - Staff Response Guidelines & Gatekeeper Training
- Youth Mental Health First Aid
- Behavior Basics
- ACEs and Trauma Informed Care
- Culturally Responsive Teaching
- Self-Care for Educators
- Steps to Respect Bullying Prevention
- Specific mental health conditions (ex. Anxiety, Depression)
- Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) for Staff