Powell schools will be able to double the number of students receiving mental health support thanks to a new contract with the Oxbow Center in Cody.

Using funds from the Wyoming Project AWARE substance abuse and mental health services administration (SAMHSA) grant that began in fall 2020, Park County School District 1 has been partnered with One Health to provide mental health services to students. 

“We've had a build up … over the last four years, of unspent funds, so there was a considerable amount of leftover,” Superintendent Jay Curtis said during the Dec. 10 board meeting. “In working with the state on what to do with that it was decided that we would go out to bid and have an additional provider.”

Right now, 67 students are being served under the SAMHSA grant with three more scheduled to begin, according to data provided by the school district. 

Students receive mental health support after being referred by the district’s own mental health professionals and going through an approval process with parent involvement.

“Parents have to be signing papers from the very beginning,” Curtis said.

He added that the contract with Oxbow (formerly Yellowstone Behavioral Health) is a big step in creating infrastructure that could potentially let the program sustain itself beyond the SAMHSA grant which is set to expire in the 2025 academic year. 

Since the district has received the grant 213 unique students have been through the Wyoming Project AWARE grant, with 63% of referrals accepting care. Anxiety is the most common mental health condition students seek counseling for according to voluntary student surveys, Community Mental Health Coordinator Adrienne Cronebaugh said, adding that based on functioning and social connectedness data students are improving at discharge,
“feeling they’re accomplishing their goals, feeling like they are handling their daily life well.”

Students can be referred by staff, parents or behavioral health centers (with parental consent) who feel their patient could benefit from the projects support.

Barriers to care still exist, said Cronebaugh, as parents have to be at the first appointment and this can be difficult due to transportation and time conflict.

“Really, it's a proactive effort to address the mental health needs of our students … by offering support to overcome barriers to treatment for families,” she said.  “I mean, the program is really about helping families overcome those barriers to treatment while respecting their privacy with the care.”

When the district began the program they asked parents, students and teachers what barriers they had to getting mental health care. The top four barriers identified by the community were time conflicts, transportation, cost and stigma surrounding mental health care. 

There have been capacity issues, Cronebaugh said, and adding Oxbow as a provider can help increase the number of families served.

“We only have so many mental health providers here in the basin, having an additional partner we really feel that it not only improves the number of students that we can get into treatment quickly … but also really improves family choice,” Cronebaugh said. 

Some families even opt for family therapy and others utilize a smaller partnership with Positive Progressions if their student needs substance abuse counseling.

By adding Oxbow into the mix alongside services provided through One Health and Positive Progressions — each provider must be able to serve up to 40 students throughout the calendar year. With Oxbow’s new contract the district will be able to serve 80-85 additional students, Curtis said following the meeting. 

The grant is set to run out in the fall of 2025 and the district will be looking for new grants, but the partnerships made with One Health and Oxbow are strategic, Cronebaugh said.

“We partnered with them strategically because they're federally qualified health centers, they can offer services at a reduced rate based on income,” Cronebaugh said. “So it has not only saved our grant lots of funds over the past few years, but ultimately, we should be able to help those families continue addressing that barrier of cost after the life of the grant.”

Students and families who are interested in receiving support through Wyoming Project AWARE can reach out to their school counselors. More information including contact information can be found at: pcsd1.org/page/mental-wellness.