SPOKANE VALLEY — The City Council heard a staff report on the exploration of behavioral health programs and potential spending of allocated funds at their regular meeting on Aug. 29
In 2022, Council allocated $1,000,000 of ARPA funding to mental health and learning support for youth projects.
“There are a number of programs worthy of funding and the impact of these funds could potentially be stretched farther by partnering with another entity or entities,” the staff report said.
One of the pilot programs currently being developed and implemented in the West Valley, Cheney, Riverside, and Freeman School Districts is the Initiative for Student Wellness, Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment Program.
This program was adopted out of the desire to address the highlighted need for children/youth behavioral health services within Spokane County, the report said.
“I’m a retired teacher and once they learn that this is out there for students, that is really key,” Councilmember Tim Hattenberg said.
“The services of this program seem to really be what the Valley needs. What will this kind of partnership look like?” Councilmember Ben Wick said.
“The survey looks at the grade level and a full caseload of ongoing services from clinicians. We’re looking at resources of this kind being put out in every one of the schools who are requesting more. Based on the existing funding, we anticipate two clinicians for each school,”
Justin Johnson, Director of Community Services Department, said.
“Do you have an idea of what the pilot program at West Valley for the two clinicians for the year costs?” Councilmember Ben Wick said.
Johnson responded that it would be just short of $400,000. “It will depend on many factors, such as increasing costs and so forth, but that’s my estimate,” Johnson said.
“It would seem to me that a one-year program isn’t going to do it, so we will have to make a decision on how to leverage that money. The fact of the matter is, if we don’t try something and we have a program that appears to be working elsewhere, I wouldn’t want to reinvent the wheel,” Councilmember Arne Woodard said.
Woodard continued to say that one year would not be sufficient in addressing the current mental health issues in the school system.
“I think time is of the essence. I don’t think having this discussion until December would benefit anybody. The sooner we can get started, the better,” Councilmember Arne Woodard said.
Lucas is a former Cheney Free Press managing editor. He is a nationally published author who contributes regularly to several publications across the country.
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