Capstone partners with Newton school district to provide therapy for elementary students

Capstone Behavioral Healthcare is partnering with Newton Community School District to bring school-based therapy options for elementary students next year.

In fall of the 2023-2024 school year there will be an on-site therapist available at least one day per week at the specialized behavior program building and every elementary building. The program is similar to the counseling services provided to WEST Academy, which has a Capstone therapist visit the school once a week.

Jenna Isely, a mental health therapist intern at Capstone Behavioral Healthcare, will be leading the program after receiving her social work license and finishing her final semester of grad school, where she has specialized in early childhood development and therapy. She currently has a caseload of 27 children.

At the Newton school board meeting on Feb. 27, Isely shared a presentation of the program and how it will be implemented in the district at no cost.

Capstone will provide a quality trained licensed mental health therapist who will have all the necessary equipment and supplies associated with child therapy, make releases for each child and take care of all documentation, authorizations and communication with insurance companies.

In exchange, the school district will agree to provide one contracted office space in each of the elementary buildings, referrals from guidance counselors and staff and a desk, an office chair and two sitting chairs in each office. In the future, the program may extend to the middle school and high school.

Julie Smith, executive director at Capstone Behavioral Healthcare, told Newton News in a follow-up interview the reasoning behind the program is because students are still struggling to meet their mental health needs. And it is a topic that is frequently brought up by the Jasper County Cares Coalition.

“This is something we’ve always wanted to do, and it comes up a lot in Jasper County Cares Coalition meetings, too,” Smith said. “We need to bring mental health to the forefront again. Our kids are struggling. And Capstone has always wanted to be a part of being with the schools.”

In Isely’s presentation to school board members, she stated that suicide is the second most common cause of death among children ages 6 to 18 years old, and it has increased by 56 percent over the past 20 years; and 50 percent of all mental illnesses begin by age 14, and 75 percent occur by early childhood.

These figures stress the need for more access to mental health services for kids, even more so when 59 percent of all children in Iowa who have been diagnosed with at least one major depressive episode do not receive treatment. Some families cannot overcome treatment barriers like time, transportation or money.

“My goal is to address some of these barriers that prevent care and need,” Isely said. “I’ve had a lot of people who’ve wanted to come into Capstone but they’ve had to choose: Do I go to work and keep a roof over my head? Or do I take time off work to get my kid therapy? It’s a very unfortunate position to be in.”

Parental consent is needed for children to take part in therapy. While the district is not paying for the services provided by Capstone, the clinic will be reimbursed through mental health insurance. For families who do not have insurance, Capstone is willing to work with families to find other means to cover costs.

“We have specific grants from the region that allows us to pay for that,” Isely said.

By having a therapist at the school, it can ultimately improve the education of students. Isely said children who have experienced trauma tend to be the students who are more often sent out of the classroom due to disruptive behavior, which leads to them missing content and playing catch-up.

Currently, it is estimated there will be at least 30 students who would be referred for school-based therapy from three of the four elementary schools.