HANCEVILLE, Ala. – The Cullman County Board of Education (CCBOE) on Wednesday hosted a training event at Wallace State to familiarize local school counselors and other professionals with “mental health first aid” for youth. Attendees included CCBOE counselors, nurses and social workers, as well as staff from Brooks’ Place Child Advocacy Center.
CCBOE Mental Health Service Coordinator, Karen Pinion, told The Tribune, “This is the second Youth Mental Health First Aid meeting held this school year by Cullman County Schools. Participants thus far include school counselors, school nurses, school social workers, representatives from the Department of Human Resources, Helping Families Initiative, Brooks’ Place and Juvenile Probation. The focus of the YMHFA is to prepare school personnel and outside agency members with the knowledge and skills on how to respond to a mental health emergency and offer support to individuals in distress. As of current, Cullman County Schools employs three social workers and contracts with Family Support Services to offer School-Based Mental Health therapists in all Cullman County schools.”
Instructor Wanda Langley told The Tribune that this program, offered currently to 103 school systems across the state under a federal grant, is “to provide training for school personnel so that they can become mental health first aid providers for the students in the school. They can identify students that may be experiencing some mental health issues, so that they can identify them early on and be able to get them some help.”
Instructor Anna Watts described mental health first aid as “a lot like CPR—it’s where you learn to just provide those first aid supports. You’re assessing the student—are they at risk for harm to themselves or others? If they are not, then you’re moving on to a non-crisis situation. You’re going to listen to them, you’re going to provide them information, you’re going to connect them with either professional resources or self-care options that they might follow. If they are at–risk for suicide or harm to themselves or others, then you’re going to immediately connect them with professional resources. It would be just like giving someone CPR—you give them CPR until the appropriate help gets there.”
After their in-class training, participants are provided a manual and other resources, including nationwide contact information for emergency mental health assistance programs. The professionals are also provided resources to help them take care of themselves while providing care to others.
About the Alabama Department of Education’s Mental Health Service Coordinator program
In 2020, the Alabama Legislature established the position of School-Based Mental Health Service Coordinator and appropriated $4,530,000 to provide grants to local education agencies to employ coordinators to support and expand coordination of mental health services throughout their school systems. In Sept. 2020, CCBOE named Karen Pinion as the system’s Mental Health Service Coordinator.
According to the State Department of Education, “The Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) recognizes efforts to improve student wellness and school culture/climate-related initiatives and programs are certainly cross-sectional at ALSDE and in each school system. Cross-sectional departments such as school nursing, school safety, special education, transportation, guidance and counseling, physical education and health and community partnerships all impact student well-being and performance. Coordination of these efforts is a priority, and it is incumbent upon all stakeholders to build relationships, provide resources and reinforce behavioral expectations that make a positive difference in the lives of our students.”
Copyright 2021 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
