Co-respondents, Loveland Police Officer Bobbie Joe Miller, right, and Summit Stone clinician Amy Healy pose for a photo Thursday in Miller’s police cruiser. Ms. Miller paired with Ms. Healy to respond to students in crisis at Thompson School District schools. They are one of his two teams used at the school to deal with students in crisis. (Jenny Sparks/Loveland Herald reporter)
As a social worker at Loveland High School, Taylor Bussey routinely interacts with students dealing with behavioral and mental health issues, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. But until recently, she said, resources were limited within the school system, making it difficult to arrange emergency or follow-up care for students in crisis.
“Behavioral and mental health needs are at an all-time high,” she said. “There are two of us in the entire school, and it’s hard to keep up with all the local resources and legal aspects.”
Eighteen months ago, Boushie and his counseling colleagues across the district finally got the backup they needed. In November 2022, the Thompson School District piloted the state’s first “youth crisis” response unit.
The unit combines school resource officers from the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office with clinicians from Summit Stone Health Partners to provide assistance beyond what schools can provide, including hospitalization, access to ongoing care, and follow-up support. Provided mental health services to students.
After the first year, the demand was so great that a second joint response team was added several months ago, including Loveland Police Department intelligence officers.
For Ms. Bushey, the additional support not only eases her workload, but also alleviates her concerns about students who require more intensive intervention, ensuring that her students receive the level of treatment they need in a timely manner. Now you can receive it.
“They help out a lot with that,” she said. “…it’s great that the co-respondents are connected to SummitStone because they can refer you to a therapist like that. Whereas if it was just me, I could call a million therapists. , there may be a waiting list, or a variety of other circumstances that can slow down the process.
Thompson School District and other stakeholders, including law enforcement officials, Summit Stone management, and members of the joint response team, agree that the program keeps staff and students safe and leads to better outcomes. There seems to be a consensus on this.
School co-respondent
According to the Colorado Department of Behavioral Health, this joint response model involves law enforcement officers and professional clinicians working together to respond to calls related to mental or behavioral health crises. The two use their training and expertise to de-escalate situations, prevent violence, and then help connect people in crisis to treatment programs and therapy.
Joe Wojjanski, director of safety and security at Thompson Schools, saw firsthand the power of the joint responder model during his time as a corrections officer and reserve lieutenant with the LCSO. In the summer of 2022, he approached his former colleagues about making it available to schools.
Three months after that conversation, a new Youth Crisis Response Team, comprised of LCSO Deputy Brandon Solano and Clinician Marian Ramos Flynn, is responding to calls for assistance at elementary, middle, and high schools across the district. I was there.
“We found that there were needs in areas that were probably beyond the capabilities of school professionals, and that parents needed help as well,” Wojanski said. “And it was just a way to really support the kids, including schools, parents and clinical personnel who can help.”
Despite the prevalence of joint response forces in Colorado law enforcement, the two teams operating at Thompson’s school are unique. Currently, only two other jurisdictions have dedicated school departments, but state health officials believe it’s only a matter of time before the practice becomes more widespread.
“Pairing clinicians with police officers is a very common practice when responding to behavioral health issues on a regular basis,” Stephanie Bush, Colorado BHA media manager, wrote. ing. “Therefore, pairing clinicians with school resource officers is a natural next iteration. It is not uncommon for schools to request responses from (co-respondent) teams, and in the future More school teams may appear.”
TSD’s joint response team is called upon when school staff have exhausted available options to resolve a crisis, or when a student requires mental health or legal resources outside of school. That can mean everything from suicidal students to physical altercations to reintegration into society after hospitalization.
So far, co-respondent calls have been split evenly between the three school levels, Wojjanski said.
The team also assists with threat assessments, conducts follow-up visits with students, and works with families to ensure students receive support at home.
“We get pulled in different directions and in different ways,” Solano said.
The first few months of the program were “strictly reactive” for Solano and his partners, with word of the unit spreading throughout the district.
“We literally went from phone call to phone call, then threat assessment, then safety planning meeting, but we weren’t able to be as proactive as I would have liked,” he said. Ta. “I think a big part of what we can do is get ahead of some of this issue.”
This led to the creation of a second team in March: LPD school resource officer Bobbie Jo Miller and clinician Amy Healy. The path paved by the top team has kept the pair on track, providing a much-needed relief valve for Solano and his current partner, clinician Michelle Sylvester.
“We’ve all been busy with referrals and have been able to spend more time at school,” Solano said. “We love seeing kids when they’re not in crisis.”
Main benefits
Co-respondents and school officials were reluctant to share specific success stories of the program due to privacy concerns, but it has helped students deal with concerns such as substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. He said it had become.
Solano also reported success in helping families connect with resources and access long-term services for those in need.
Additionally, he continued, it allowed him to build relationships with students and provide a positive model of law enforcement to those who may have previously only had negative encounters.
“Our goal is to connect kids with services,” he said. “Do not do anything law enforcement related unless absolutely necessary.”
LCSO Operations Division Corporal Stephen Fay said the program has also led to improved collaboration between law enforcement, districts and mental health professionals, leading to more effective operations.
“In a way, it’s nice that the district actually invited us as a partner and to give us a perspective on things,” he said. “…It’s unique to have that level of trust from the school district.”
from now on
With few official guidelines or resources, the Thompson District Co-Responder Program remains a work in progress, but participants are excited to expand. In recent months, Wojanski has fielded calls from other districts around the country about the program and has been asked to speak at both regional and national conferences on the topic.
“This is a trailblazer because they are literally writing the book on a lot of things that are setting the stage for generations to come,” Fay said.
In addition to the number of joint response teams in the district, Wojjanski and his team members also hope to expand the range of services they provide to include more education and community involvement. Both agencies are also working to increase the visibility of the unit among other law enforcement agencies, and joint responders will be called upon for incidents involving students outside of school or during school holidays.
But Megan Henshinski, Summit Stone’s clinical supervisor, also faces limits to what joint response teams can do, and often for reasons beyond their control. Stated. As an example, despite the opening of Longview Behavioral Health, there are very few beds available for inpatient treatment for students under 13 years of age.
“Certain age groups really struggle to find the right level of care,” she says. “…We have several children who have been evaluated by multiple different people and found to need housing. Unless we consider out of state or several hours away, there are no options. there is no.”
Despite these limitations, Henczynski and colleagues agreed that it’s hard to deny the benefits of having more mental health professionals in schools. Many, like state behavioral health officials, said they believe joint response teams in schools will become the norm within the next 15 to 20 years.
Until then, Wojanski will continue to have faith in Solano, Sylvester, Miller and Healy and will let them do what is necessary to best support TSD students.
“Students and families who are going through difficult times can rest assured that they have support that is probably beyond my ability,” he said. “It’s great to be able to work with both teams to ensure we support our students and parents.”
