Valley View School District 365 Case Study

Illinois at a glance

4,873,491

people live in communities without enough providers

39%

of adults reported symptoms of anxiety or depression

61.8%

of youth (12-17) with depression who did not revive care in the last year

145,000

Illinois residents age 12-17 struggle with depression

28%

of adults were unable to get needed counseling or therapy

A closer look at Valley View School District, IL

Challenges

Valley View School District has a strategic priority to strengthen systems and ensure equitable practices and outcomes for every student. However, the district faces increased mental health needs among a diverse community with a broad span of cultures, languages, incomes, and transportation. The district is also short-staffed. With expanded roles and requirements alongside high fatigue and low well-being, it is difficult to hire and retain school health professionals to meet the needs of their community. They searched for a sustainable community-wide solution to overcome their challenges.

Solutions

Universal Access to Care

VVSD has a diverse community, with 46% Hispanic population and 64% receiving food assistance. With this in mind, it is important to ensure that language and finances are not barriers to care. Care Solace supports equitable access to care by offering coordination support in 200+ languages and finding providers regardless of insurance needs, including private insurance, Medicaid, and sliding scale options for those without insurance.

Support Existing Staff Members

Care Solace takes on the time-consuming work of connecting individuals in need to help in the community. Acting as an extension of their team, this support expands on VVSD's existing resources and enables them to connect more students to care. Care Solace also addresses staff well-being by offering care coordination services for staff and their families.

Support Existing Staff Members

Care Solace takes on the time-consuming work of connecting individuals in need to help in the community. Acting as an extension of their team, this support expands on VVCSD's existing resources and enables them to connect more students to care. Care Solace also addresses staff well-being by offering care coordination services for staff and their families.

Care Solace's Impact on VVSD

Care Solace's 24/7/365 Care Companion™ team helped VVSD coordinate care for their community facing mental health and substance use challenges. A family stated, "Care Solace was very efficient, quick to respond and dedicated to connecting families to help."

The following impact was made between July 2021 - June 2022:

38K+ communications made

on behalf of staff and families. On average, each communication takes 6 min., which means Care Solace saved staff and families 5,700 full work weeks in 1 year.

50% booked an appointment

when using Care Solace compared to an average of only 18% when a person navigates the mental health care system on their own.

21% had Medicaid or no insurance

Care Solace connected individuals to quality mental health care providers regardless of coverage.

57% from the BIPOC community

Care Solace provides access to care
for diverse communities.

Conclusion

Increasing mental health needs among students and staff led VVSD district leadership to develop a shared vision of equity and seek a community-wide solution. Working collaboratively with Care Solace, Valley View School District's team now has the capacity to ensure every community member has the support they need to navigate the mental health care system and connect to care.

HIGHER ED (HERO) AdobeStock_369940479