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Schools turn focus to mental health

Local schools are focusing more attention and resources on students' mental health, an effort brought to the spotlight following the mass shooting at a South Florida high school.

Local schools are focusing more attention and resources on students’ mental health, an effort revealed there were 32,475 involuntary examinations under the Baker Act for people under 18 from July 2015 to June 2016.

The Baker Act allows for individuals to be involuntarily committed for evaluation if they are considered a threat to themselves or others.

The same DCF report said in five years, the number of Florida kids and teens Baker Acted jumped 49.3 percent, compared to a population growth of about 5.5 percent.

The report attributed the dramatic growth to a number of personal, social and societal factors.

The report also showed there is just one school counselor per 488 students in Florida public schools.

“When their attendance is falling, when their grades are falling, and even being aware of their family’s situations,” Erika Gilbert, guidance curriculum specialist with Clay County Schools, said of warning signs that a student might need help.

Gilbert stressed that early intervention is critical for better outcomes. That’s why, she said, Clay County Schools are training staff to recognize various risk factors and warning signs.

“If you can catch a student early and give them the skills, the help, the therapy that they need, then you can stop a lifelong mental health issue,” she said.

Gilbert said typically if a teacher identifies a student who could need mental health services, they alert the school counselor, who then connects with the student. From there they contact the family and link them to mental health resources.

Students may need the most attention while school is in session. The DCF report showed there are more involuntary examinations for children and teens under 18 when school is in session, as opposed to summer and winter breaks.

That’s not surprising to Gilbert, who said children may already be struggling with issues at home.

“And you put on top of that the peers and the academics I think sometimes that pressure … the kids just explode,” she said.

In 2018, Clay County Schools launched a new program to provide no-cost mental health services to at-risk students.

The program, which is a partnership with Motivational Coaches of America, is in place at Wilkerson Junior High School, Orange Park Junior High School and Green Cove Springs Junior High School. The district plans to expand to all junior high schools for the 2018-2019 school year.

Gilbert said the goal is to build long-term relationships with the students because that stability is key.

“No matter how much they sometimes fight and you think they don’t want to help or they’re resisting, it’s just forming that relationship,” she said. “And that can make all the difference in the world.”

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