Bipolar disorder

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Other short-term needs may arise upon the death of a student or other traumatic event, they said.

In the past, school counselors would refer children to mental health services, but often parents could not afford to take off from work to take the children to counseling appointments.

The result left school counselors burdened with an unmanageable number of children needing more time and attention than one person could give, said Blair Olson, executive secretary of the Arkansas Counseling Association.

“Before, we were simply scratching the surface,” said Olson, who is also a professor and chairman of the Department of Counseling at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia.

“Now, we are making inroads.” FINDING FUNDING Arkansas school-based mental health programs are funded through a variety of sources, including federal, state and local.

The Arkansas Department of Education is to distribute $ 2 million in federal grants this year to 10 school districts participating in the network.

The state Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Behavioral Health Services is also jointly funding five programs, said Marcia Harding, associate director of the Special Education Unit of the Education Department.

Over time, federal funding decreases, and school districts must use more of their own funds in addition to reimbursements from Medicaid or private insurers, she said...

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