Compass To Provide Services For Bourbon Students

The Bourbon School Board agreed Monday to partner with Compass Health Network-Pathways to bring a support system for students and families in the district.

A school-based therapist will be available in the district to provide services to students within the school day.

Bourbon will be the first district in the area to have a school-based therapist. The therapy services will be provided in addition to triage -- assign degrees of urgency -- students who are having issues.

In March, Bourbon Superintendent Patricia Thompson said Medicaid prohibited students from receiving billable services during the school day.

On March 22, Thompson said she learned there had been a change in regulations to permit it, which allowed the district to bring a school-based therapist on board.

Locations will be designated for the therapist at each of the three campuses.

School-based therapy is designed to provide therapy to students in need of social and emotional support. The services attempt to reach students in need by serving them in a familiar setting. Some of the barriers to behavioral support -- transportation and parents unable to take off work -- are eliminated.

Compass says school-based therapy promotes an "integrated and holistic approach" for student overall health and well-being.

Students who are served by the school-based therapist will be screened for additional health needs and parents will be supported in accessing these additional services.

Personnel from Compass Health also will meet with students to provide a triage. During the triage, personnel will assess "current symptoms and history of trauma." Personnel will determine the services best suited for the child, which could include the set-up of a community-based program through the Comprehensive Psychiatric Resource Center (CPRC), home visits and implementation of a psycho/social rehab group (PSR).

Thompson said in a memo to staff that if there is a child in crisis during the school day who can't seem to calm, Compass personnel will send someone to assist. A Compass staffer will be able to see the behavior firsthand and provide guidance to school staff on how to serve the student.