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Program would bring liaisons to DPS schools to address behavioral health

Community liaisons will be a point of contact for students and their families to help connect them with resources such as housing or grief counseling.

DENVER — There's growing concern about the mental health of Colorado's children, especially following the pandemic. That's why Denver's health department wants to allocate more than $800,000 to help schools. 

Through a contract with the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment, Denver Public Schools will offer behavioral health programming. The contract will fund staffing for the program, which includes eight community liaison positions.

Liaisons will be a point of contact for students and their families to help connect them with resources in the community, such as housing or grief counseling. The positions will be a part of the DPS mental health team.

"What might be impacting their education? What might be impacting their mood, their behavior?" said Nachshon Zohari, the Program Manager for Community Engagement at the health department's Community and Behavioral Health Division. 

The proposed new program, though, won't be ready for the first day of class. 

The goal was to start this program in August, but that won't happen since DDPHE and DPS are still working on a contract. The proposal was approved by a committee, and now heads to a full council for a vote. 

Once it gets going, the hope is it will help students focus on education, and keep them away from violence. 

"Maybe if I had somebody to talk to that would help me not get to that place," Zohari said. 

The funding will also create a behavioral health staffing pipeline to give opportunities to people in the community interested in getting a license to move into a higher-paid, high-demand behavioral health role. The goal is to increase the number of people who could serve as school psychologists, social workers and nurses. 

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