Texans Can Academies have implemented student counseling services for students at all of their 13 campuses located across the state in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio to help high school students with depression, mental illness, and other issues receive the help they need. Texans Can Academies’ students are now able to call 24/7, year-round, for emergencies or to schedule off-campus counseling appointments. Texans Can Academies covers cost of services making it possible for students to receive confidential, complimentary crisis intervention help.
“Texans Can Academies educates children in all aspects, and mental health is among the most important,” said Texans Can Academies President and CEO Richard Marquez. “We are seeing mental health conditions more and more across United States’ high school campuses and the tragic and dangerous outcomes from students with these issues. We decided as a school district to proactively help all of our students suffering from any type of depression, daily stress or mental illness, whether it be temporary as part of teenage life or severe, more serious cases.”
Texans Can Academies’ student counseling services allow students to make appointments at a private clinic office via mobile app or receive help by calling the toll-free number exclusive to their students at any time for emergencies or when a student just needs to talk. Services are confidential and free for students. Texans Can Academies will not receive information about who uses the program or why.
“It is exciting to help Texans Can Academies implement counseling and crisis intervention services to their already extensive care of their students,” said Paul Fleming, president of Student Assistance Programs & Training Services (SAP / TS), LLC. “Modeled on the principles of successful Employee Assistance Programs, our goal is to help young people cope with their problems now and by doing so, prevent future, more difficult emotional issues.” SAP / TS is the program manager and an affiliated company of Jorgensen Brooks Group (JBG), both Arizona firms. For 27 years, JBG customers have included colleges, school districts, counties, cities and towns, hospitals and other service groups.
Depression, a key indicator of overall emotional health, has escalated since the 1980’s and 1990’s. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 20% of youth ages 13 to 18 live with a mental health condition. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in youth ages 10 to 24. The National Institute of Mental Health states an estimated 3.1 million adolescents aged 12 to 17, or 12.8%, in the United States in 2016 had at least one major depressive episode. However, 60% of those with a major depressive episode did not receive treatment.
Given widespread mental health conditions and diagnosed clinical depression among teens, Texans Can Academies is proactively putting treatment options in place for students.
“We see some of our students suffering daily from issues outside of school that affect their success in school,” said James Ponce, PhD, Chief of Schools for Texans Can Academies. “With the tragic outcomes we have been seeing across our nation among youth who could have possibly benefitted from mental health care, we decided to implement a program for our students to help them through their teenage years. We also wanted to remove the stigma of asking for help by making it easily and confidentially accessible. We encourage our kids to reach out for help with problems big and small.”
Written consent from parent or legal guardian is required for students under 18 years seeking counseling services. Services are confidential in compliance with HIPAA regulations and state student requirements.
About: Celebrating 33 years of providing the highest quality education for all students, Texans Can schools are graduating thinkers. Texans Can Academies are a unique network of 13 charter schools located in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. The schools are tuition-free, open enrollment, public high schools of choice serving students who have struggled in a traditional high school setting. To date, more than 141,000 youth have been given a second chance at life with the opportunity to pursue their dreams. Cars for Kids is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization benefiting Texans Can Academies and is the only car donation program in Texas that is operated by the charity it serves. www.texanscan.org or www.carsforkids.org.