As students and teachers approach the halfway point of the school year, it is important for service organizations like CIS Dallas to pause, reflect, and evaluate the success of its programs. In the last year, our organization served 10,270 students with individualized case management and supported over 91,000 students with schoolwide services, as well as afterschool and summer programs. This 46% growth from our previous year shows the need that our school partners face and how CIS can be a support agent in public school education. In Spring 2022, a significant expansion to the CIS clinical team was made, hiring the organization’s first Chief Clinical Officer. Through her expertise, we developed a robust strategy to deliver additional services, including one-on-one counseling, psychoeducational groups and referrals to a greater network of clinical partners in the region. The model of Brief Solutions Based Therapy, in addition to the in-house developed curriculum by our CCO, provides immediate resources to our students. Our team of six Clinical Coordinators delivers services in partnership with each school’s Site Coordinator. Through this structured system, in partnership with school counselors and administrators, we are more poised than ever before to meet the mental health needs of our students. Made possible through the Safer Students, Stronger Schools (4S) campaign, now entering its third and final year, the improved six-person clinical team is housed primarily on school campuses, offering same-day response times to site coordinators, students, and district employees needing support. Additionally, licensed clinical team members offer training and support to teachers and administrators, acknowledging that we cannot properly care for our children unless we first care for ourselves.
This year, students and teachers on 132 campuses across 14 North Texas districts know they have immediate access to licensed professionals who offer counseling, group therapy, referrals, and mental health education to students of all ages. This year, over 10,000 children in Pre-K through 12th grade will receive intensive case management services through CIS, culminating in an anticipated 40,000 students served across the 3-year campaign.
This kind of impact would not be possible without the steadfast support of our many donors. Communities In Schools of the Dallas Region would like to give a special thanks to the W.W. Caruth, Jr. Foundation at Communities Foundation of Texas for making an early and significant contribution to the 4S campaign, paving the way for others to offer their support and enable CIS Dallas to expand the important work of caring for the mental health and wellbeing of students.
