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Council member highlights mental health challenges in after-school programs
1:30:37
ยท
132 sec
Council Member Nantasha M. Williams discusses the complexities of after-school programs and the inadequate training for staff to handle mental health challenges among students. She emphasizes the need for more comprehensive support and training for program providers.
- Mentions an initiative with NYU focused on mental health outcomes and student success
- Highlights the gap between school-based training and after-school program staff training
- Expresses concern about students potentially being dismissed from programs due to lack of appropriate support
Nantasha M. Williams
1:30:37
Yes, I just want to say that I know the chair holds you all accountable at these hearings but she's very protective of this agency.
1:30:48
Even when members like myself are quite critical.
1:30:52
She helps us to understand a lot of the complexities.
1:30:58
I just was talking to her about a complexity because I am currently doing an initiative with NYU around mental health outcomes and student success and we just had a session yesterday and some of the schools who also double and work at the after school program, run the after school program, an expanded program talked about how some of the healing modalities that we're talking about need to transfer over into after school.
1:31:29
So even if a student may not present in a particular way but maybe they are struggling with some type of mental health challenge or maybe they have an IEP or something to that effect, the commentary was that the training that the staffers have to go through is not comprehensive and does not give them the appropriate skill set to deal with a wide range of issues that we are seeing and I know it came up in this hearing especially post COVID and she just shared with me a whole bunch of things just now, but I'll just ask you on the record like outside of potentially dismissing you know a scholar from a particular program,
Mike Bobbitt
1:32:15
what
Nantasha M. Williams
1:32:15
other resources, solutions are we doing to provide support for the providers so they can appropriately like service the student so they're not getting kicked out?
1:32:32
You know I know you have these you know unique programs for folks who deal with this population, wonderful population, we love them, but I'm just wondering because I know there are a lot of other students who are ending up in regular after school programs.