Q&A
Discussion of Intro 986 - pilot project for mental health professionals in student wellness clubs
0:23:40
·
3 min
Council Member Linda Lee discusses the implementation challenges and possibilities for Intro 986, which proposes a pilot project involving mental health professionals in student wellness clubs. Dr. Erica Lynne Smith from DOHMH responds to questions about potential implementation strategies.
- Consideration of starting with schools that have school-based mental health clinics
- Discussion of the need for further conversations about implementation details
- Emphasis on the importance of complementing existing programs and providing additional spaces for mental health issues to be detected
- Suggestion to have at least one pilot school in each borough to ensure diverse representation
Linda Lee
0:23:40
Okay.
0:23:40
Okay.
0:23:42
So I guess I guess I hear you in terms of what the challenges would be for implementation of 986.
0:23:47
But I I guess, because it is a pilot project that the bill's proposing, would it be possible to, have, for example, start off with the schools that do have the school based mental health clinics?
0:24:05
Or would it do you think a better assessment would be to have a mixture of both to try to see how it would work in schools also with the non Article 31 clinics?
Dr. Erica Lynne Smith
0:24:14
I think you know, we're always working with our New York City Public Schools and CBO partners, to provide clinical mental health supports to schools.
0:24:25
I think we would need to have further conversations about implementation because implementation is kind of a broad category and pilots hopefully lead to, you know, rollouts of larger, programming for schools.
0:24:43
I don't know that I can say at this moment if it would be better to have a you know, some of our pilots are only 2 schools.
0:24:50
So so I don't know I don't know that I can speak to that off the cuff.
Linda Lee
0:24:54
Okay.
0:24:55
Yeah.
0:24:55
I was just curious to hear from your perspective because I'm sure you've had implement some of these types of pilot projects before.
0:25:01
So is it better to have 1 in each borough, for example?
0:25:05
Is it better to have, look at the ZIP codes with higher needs and see where those schools fall with the Article 31 school based clinics.
0:25:13
And I'd be curious to hear, if the bill were to pass, like, just recommendations from you all on how best to look at, the pilot project.
0:25:24
Because I think what we keep hearing over and over again from not just the providers but also the students is how important the, you know, it is to have the wellness clubs.
0:25:36
And also, not that there has to be, per se it really is almost like you like you mentioned in the, testimony.
0:25:43
You know, these programs, hopefully, are meant to complement what's already there.
0:25:47
And so the way I see this is that the more we can, try to provide, different spaces where mental health, issues may arise and could be detected and then send them to the proper if they need further help or if they don't, that's fine either way.
0:26:04
But, you know, it's just another sort of catch you know, way to catch the folks from slipping through the cracks.
0:26:11
And so I don't know.
0:26:12
I mean, obviously, I know that we it's gonna be an ongoing conversation.
0:26:14
But that those are the things that I would love to hear from you all on is how, you would see it as being more successful.
0:26:21
I personally think that it'd be great if we could have at least one in every borough.
0:26:25
Because I know that sometimes certain boroughs get neglected and it's not always the high need, ZIP codes, perhaps.
0:26:32
Because, you know, students travel, to different schools, all over the city, as well as the fact that, you know, mental health doesn't discriminate.
0:26:42
Right?
0:26:42
Every student suffers from it no matter where you're coming from.
0:26:46
So, I just wanted to point those things out.
0:26:48
But
Dr. Erica Lynne Smith
0:26:49
And and I appreciate that, Shirley.
0:26:50
Absolutely.
0:26:51
And that's why it's very important to I mean, in the schools that we have managers, those are the schools that have the longest lasting relationships with providers, whether they're Article 31 Clinics or others, because we can sort of look at the system of the school and understand the aspects that need to either be built up before bringing something into a school or, you know, help the school understand what they're getting.
Cree Atkins-Griffin
0:27:20
Mhmm.
UNKNOWN
0:27:21
And let
Linda Lee
0:27:21
me let me take 2 steps back because this may already be in existence, just maybe not formally in this fashion.
