One of my elementary school students seems consistently unable to concentrate during class and another has stopped showing up …What should I do?
A teenager in our high school has been socially withdrawn for a while and has even shown signs of substance experimentation …Who should we call?
SAP Assessors complete Behavioral Health Needs and Strengths Assessments, provide consultation to students, families and school staff and facilitate service referrals for students who may be experiencing barriers or obstacles to learning which might be attributed to mental health/substance use issues. School SAP teams identify students about whom they have these concerns and initiate the referral to CORA SAP. CORA Assessors (Alexa Balsam, Lindsay Cohen, Jesa Galloway, Jennifer Jette, Marissa Marschall and Alex Smink), under the leadership of Melissa McCullough, our Clinical Supervisor, meet with students and their parents/guardians at the various school sites to complete the assessment and consultation process. As this is often the first introduction to behavioral health care for many students and families, CORA’s careful engagement and support through this process, developed over the 30 years of providing this service, is very comforting to many families. After assessment and consultation, CORA staff help families identify next steps to address the presenting issues and assist with securing additional services as desired. Through staff interactions with other service providers throughout the City, CORA has developed a wealth of family services connections and supports to help families with this process.
March 2017 CORA CONNECTION
