The Baldwin School District has been awarded pre-approval for the 2024-2025 MHIT (Mental Health Intervention Team) Expansion Funding Program Grant, which will allow for more in-school mental health services for students through the Bert Nash Center’s WRAP (Wellness, Resources, Access and Prevention) program.
John Calvert, head safety specialist for the Kansas State Department of Education’s Safe and Secure Schools Unit, said MHIT breaks down the barriers for students to receive mental health services in schools.
“It brings mental health services into the schools so that students are not missing a half-day or a full day of school to receive needed services,” he said. “MHIT brings mental health services, group therapy, and case management into the schools so that Kansas students aren’t faced with missing additional class time.”
The almost $80,000 grant will allow for expansion of the Bert Nash Center’s WRAP school-based therapeutic program in Baldwin.
“We have been participating in MHIT since last year with the Perry-Lecompton school district and we are in the process of applying in partnership with USD 497,” said Annas Boyer, Director of Youth Community Services for the Bert Nash Center. “We applied this year with Baldwin to add a WRAP therapist that will be at both the Primary (pre-K-2 grade) and Intermediate (3-5 grades) Centers. We have had WRAP therapists in the high school and middle school in Baldwin for many years.”
Shelley Bointy, a WRAP program manager, oversees the WRAP therapists who work in the Baldwin schools.
“We appreciate the relationships our WRAP therapists at the high school and junior high have built with Baldwin Public Schools,” Bointy said. “Their hard work and the trust they have established with students and school staff have contributed to this expansion of services in the district. We are happy that the school district was open and accepting of the MHIT program and that more students will receive the care they need.”
Boyer said a portion of the MHIT grant will allow the Center to bring on an additional WRAP therapist to work in Baldwin schools.
“The biggest benefits of MHIT for schools are that it allows for more mental health professionals in the school environment, and it provides funding for school staff who act as a liaison between the school and the therapists and case managers from the Bert Nash Center.
“It’s basically a way for the schools and the mental health center to work together to support students in getting the mental health services they need and therefore, improving their overall wellbeing and their ability to engage in school and their academic development,” Boyer said.