Dane County Executive Joe Parisi released an expansion plan Monday to provide additional mental health services for youth in all Madison elementary and middle schools.
The expansion of the School Based Mental Health Teams will place mental health experts in schools to help identify and streamline intervention for youth who may suffer a mental illness. The program, which begins district-wide in 2016, costs about $250,000.
“The effects of mental illness are far reaching, affecting classrooms, families, and workplaces,” Parisi said in a Monday statement. “We all have personal accounts of its impact and the barriers it presents to learning in school.”
Madison School Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham praised Parisi’s efforts, which began with a 2014 pilot program.
“Thanks to the leadership of the County Executive, we will be able to provide that support across our district to students who need it,” Cheatham said in a Monday statement. “This partnership has provided proactive, wrap-around support to students in several of our schools.
