T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM During the Monday school board meeting, Director of Special Services Matt Cretsinger recommended a pilot program in which the Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) will hire two school-based therapists, and it received approval from the board.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) listed Iowa as the fourth highest state for increases in mental health problems in the country. With mental health among students a growing concern, the Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) Board of Education took steps to help address the problem during Monday night’s regular meeting.

On the recommendation of Director of Special Services Matt Cretsinger, board members approved a pilot program of hiring two school-based therapists for the Marshalltown Community School District in the 2024-25 school year. One will be placed in the therapy classrooms and Marshalltown Learning Academy (MLA). The other will be located at Franklin Elementary.

“If you’re wondering ‘How does school-based therapy tend to work,’ the way it usually works is through a contracted service,” Cretsinger said. “So, we would pay for an agency to send a therapist into a building. They would show up once a week, or once every couple weeks.”

Cretsinger told the board the difference between school-based and traditional therapies. School-based is centered around helping kids understand their behaviors and emotions in a school setting, while traditional places focus on mental health affected by family systems and dynamics.

The school-based therapists will have a list of kids from families which have provided approval. Therapy sessions will last 30 minutes in a designated room. That also provides for the therapist to take care of other business, such as billing and documentation, Cretsinger said. There will be no additional cost to families.

The majority of the MCSD students receiving mental health services are also in special education, he said. That creates an issue of the district supporting the students cognitively and academically.

“Bringing therapy into that equation helps us set up a situation where we can help them regulate more, help them learn more about their own triggers, as well as help our teachers learn more about the causes; what’s really going on when we see some students struggling behaviorally or academically,” Cretsinger said.

Since the services will be focused on helping students with disabilities, it will be funded by special education dollars, he said. The funding resource would primarily be Medicaid reimbursement. Cretsinger will supervise the service, and he assured board members he has the background for that as he was a therapist and clinical director before he switched to the education field.

Board member Leah Stanley asked if the partnering agencies would still be utilized by the district. Cretsinger said continuing the partnerships is the hope.

“I did share with them, prior to this board meeting, this was going to be a topic, and the direction we were moving,” he said. “They were all interested in continuing to partner with us.”

One major hurdle faced by people with mental health issues is a lack of therapists, a problem made worse by the growing demand. Agencies in Marshalltown have struggled bringing on new staff members.

According to Cretsinger, before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 17 therapists for the district from five mental health agencies. Now, the district partners with six agencies, but only seven therapists are available. Cretsinger said the current therapists do not go to all of the school buildings, either.

“We have seen a decline of services available,” he said. “It’s not the fault of our providers. Just like educators, they are working very hard to try to hire therapists, but what we have seen is there are fewer therapists and there are fewer working for community mental health agencies. Many of them have moved on to private practice.”

Board President Sean Heitmann asked Cretsinger if he thinks two therapists could be found. Cretsinger is confident they will be successful. There are some employees in the Area Education Agency (AEA) system that have expressed interest. Looking at the teacher pay scale, and the average salary of therapists, he said they are comparable.

“A school schedule is very appealing,” Cretsinger added. “Even though we would have these positions almost year-round, the schedule for schools would really draw in some people. [We have talked] to different agencies in the Ames and Des Moines area, and we’ve had some people say ‘If you actually get to that place, reach out to us and let us know.'”

In other business, the board:

Was provided updated COVID-19 recommendations from Nurse Stacey Tool-Crawford. The Iowa Health and Human Services have listed COVID in the Respiratory Illness category, which also includes influenza and RSV. Masks are not required. Under the new recommendations, children can attend school if they have a mild and improving cough and no fever.

Approved a public hearing for the 2024-25 certified budget for April 15 at 5 p.m.

Approved a contract amendment with FEH Design to design a food service area in the B.A. Niblock MCSD Orpheum Welcome Center. The cost estimate of the amended services is $175,000 to $185,000.

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.