West Middlesex schools receive state grants for student mental health, safety

Mar. 31—WEST MIDDLESEX — A pair of state grants will help West Middlesex school officials meet students' mental health needs while improving the district's security.

At their Monday meeting, the West Middlesex School Board voted to accept two grants from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency — including a $109,299 mental health grant and a $30,000 school safety grant.

Superintendent Raymond Omer said the mental health grant will help the district employ a social worker, who will handle a variety of duties depending on the students' needs.

This can include serving as a case manager for students, connecting the students to any particular services they may require, or connecting the students' parents with services that are available in the community, such as daycare or utility assistance.

If needed, the social worker can even meet with a student's family at home, Omer said.

"In the past, before we were able to bring in a social worker a couple years ago, we were meeting all these different needs but it was divided among different people at the school, so this social worker really serves as the point-of-contact for the students and their families for all those services," Omer said.

The $30,000 school safety grant will be used to improve the physical security of the school buildings, which Omer said will include improving some of the buildings' entryways.

While the doors in question are still secure, Omer said they are reaching the end of their service lives and will need replaced in the near future.

After voting to accept the grants, board President Dr. Andrew Erb thanked Omer and the school staff who worked on the grant applications, particularly the mental health grant.

"You really notice when those funds are taken away," Erb said.

Omer said the district already has a student assistance program, or SAP, which includes officials from the school district, including the district's social worker, and the Mercer County Behavioral Health Commission.

District officials have also applied for competitive grant funds that can be put toward a student behavioral health analysis, which looks at the SAP, behavioral health and a school climate analysis.

The school climate analysis is underway, using a team through the Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV, which provides services for multiple school districts, Omer said.

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