Page County staff provided an update on mental-health supports, reporting early-year metrics for the Care Solace referral service and announcing newly certified facilitators for a team mental health first aid program.

In the superintendent's update Dr. Bieber reported that Care Solace activity to date included 361 communications, 17 searches, eight total cases and four appointments; staff also reported more than 500 minutes saved in communications time. Division staff said the most common areas of concern in searches and referrals were anxiety, depression, trauma, ADHD and suicide; eating disorders were cited at lower rates.

Separately, the board was told three school counselors and the staff member Miss Heishman (identified in the update) completed training to become team mental health first aid facilitators. Presenters said those facilitators will pull a team together to implement student-facing mental health first aid coursework and supports.

Why this matters: Care Solace provides an on-demand pathway to community mental-health resources; local facilitators can increase the division's capacity to deliver evidence-based early-intervention training and supports in schools.

No formal board action was requested. Board members discussed that while communications and searches are occurring, the conversion to appointments is limited and asked staff to look into reasons for that gap.