DULUTH — In late April, the federal government announced that over $1 billion in funding for mental health programs in education would not be renewed — including a grant awarded to the College of St. Scholastica to train occupational therapists to provide mental health services in school-based settings.
At the time, it was the largest grant the college had ever received, with $3.9 million to be awarded between 2022 and 2027. Now, just halfway through that five-year grant cycle, the U.S. Department of Education announced that funding for the grant will end in December.
“With this grant, we’re training mental health service providers. Occupational therapists are considered mental health service providers, but we’re not always used, or trained to be used in that capacity,” said Kaisa Syväoja, a director of the Master of Science Occupational Therapy Program at St. Scholastica. “This grant has allowed us to train our students to go into these educational spaces and provide those services, which is a big need … It’s a big loss, with a big impact.”
As part of the program, graduate students in St. Scholastica’s occupational therapy department are placed in local schools for a three-month rotation to work with district students and staff members. While some of their work includes traditional occupational therapy services, the program’s main focus is addressing the mental health needs of students through the lens of occupational therapy.
“Acting as mental health service providers is within our scope of practice,” said Jamie Hunter, who directs the program alongside Syväoja. “It was a really innovative opportunity for us, with this grant, to showcase what occupational therapists are able to do when used to the full extent of our capabilities, while also being able to address the mental health service provider shortage that is prevalent within the US, and regionally.”
Funding for the grant came out of the
SAFER Communities Act
in 2022. Part of the focus of the bill was addressing the need for mental health support, during a time when anxiety, depression, and general
worsening mental health in adolescents
was on the rise, largely attributed to the isolation and stress of the coronavirus pandemic.
That same year, nearly 30% of students in Minnesota reported
long-term mental health problems
on the Minnesota State Survey for K-12 students, an all-time high for the report.
“There is a need. There is a need for mental health service providers in the schools and there’s a need for students to be in spaces that they can learn best, and providing the supports for that is really integral,” said Syväoja. “This is directly supporting being able to, hopefully, get future health care practitioners, future occupational therapists into those underserved areas.”
While traditionally, occupational therapists might work with a smaller group of students on sensory processing or improving fine motor skills, St. Scholastica students are being taught to explore different approaches.
“We’re not replacing other mental health professionals, but we’re looking at mental health from a slightly different vantage point — like how does it impact that child’s occupational engagement and ability to be able to learn and be in the classroom?” Hunter said.
St. Scholastica’s program works in partnership with four districts: Northern Lights Learning Academy, Duluth Edison Charter Schools, Rock Ridge Schools and Superior School District.
“I really saw the benefit of it, not just for me as someone in training as an occupational therapist, but with the students and staff members too,” said Louise Konetski, an occupational therapy student at St. Scholastica, who spent three months working in Rock Ridge Schools. “We were able to access populations that don’t normally get our services. I didn’t really know what to expect going into it, but we got to act in such a dynamic role, working with staff, students and administrators.”
The work graduate students do in their schools varies greatly, depending on the needs of the student population. Primarily though, Hunter said, there’s a focus on creating better environments for student learning, and teaching mental health literacy.
“The hope is, we’re providing services early, providing those tools, so that kids don’t need more intensive services later on, because they have those preventative skills,” added Syväoja. “And for those kids that do need more intensive services, we’ll have more capacity to do that, knowing that some of those fundamental needs of being a student, of being in a classroom and interacting with others, have been addressed.”
At Duluth Edison’s two schools, Head of Schools Tammy Rackliffe said student therapists have helped implement tools to help students build relationships, regulate their emotions and have a better understanding of their own mental health needs.
“It’s really helped students to foster positive relationships with each other, as well as staff,” Rackliffe said. “Teachers are incorporating more of the mindfulness and movement strategies in the classroom. It’s allowing the kids to increase regulation and participate more.”
It’s not just in students that Rackliffe has noticed a change. Working with staff members and providing the resources to implement occupational therapy strategies in classrooms has helped create a more positive environment overall, she said. Having methods and regulatory activities in place to help students during “unstructured” times like recess and lunch has resulted in fewer interventions and referrals during those periods.
“We’re seeing those impacts throughout the whole building,” Rackliffe said. “Students have a better understanding of themselves, of their mental health. They’re able to communicate their needs better, which is huge not just for staff, but for families,” said Rackliffe. “Those are impacts we won’t be able to replace.”
Syväoja noted that they have another group of 11 students set to be placed during the fall semester. Beyond that, it’s hard to say what sort of programming St. Scholastica will be able to provide without the support of the Mental Health Service Provider grant.
The college is working on an appeal of the Department of Education’s decision, and has engaged legal counsel.
“We are deeply disappointed by this decision,” said St. Scholastica President Barbara McDonald in a news release. “This program has not only been essential in addressing the mental health challenges faced by our Twin Ports community but also in upholding the foundational mission of occupational therapy. We firmly believe that our approach — integrating classroom learning with community action — is both innovative and critically needed.”
St. Scholastica is in the process of holding conversations with district administrators, looking for ways to sustain programming and still expand mental health services, regardless of the funding setback.
“I really don’t see how it benefits anyone to lose this program. This is going to hurt a large group of people,” said Konetski, who added that her experiences working in the schools helped reshape her approach to occupational therapy.
“It’s going to leave it on an unfinished note,” she said. “We were just getting started really … and it just feels very abrupt and unreasonable to end it this way.”
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