Community Counseling Center soon will expand services to Perry County students

The Community Counseling Center plans to expand its services to students in Perry County by the time winter break is over in early January.

The not-for-profit behavioral-health organization already provides services to students in Cape Girardeau and Ste. Genevieve counties.

Audrey Burger, CCC's clinical operations director, is leading the effort she said will ensure a therapist can work with children in District 32 as well as nearby Altenburg, area private schools and even home-schoolers.

"Because of the need, we decided to do that," she said.

Although Burger submitted a proposal last month to the Youth Tax Board in Perry County, the body turned it down in favor of a private agency.

She is resubmitting the proposal to the county's Mental Health Board in hopes it will help subsidize the cost of providing a therapist, who likely will be housed at Perryville High School and travel to other schools as needed.

The proposal is for $57,500 to help pay for the therapist's salary, benefits, travel and phone.

"That doesn't cover the position 100 percent, either," Burger said.

Because the therapist's duties are billable only if a student receives Medicaid, funding has to be sought to help maintain services. The CCC cannot charge private health insurance in a school setting, Burger said.

If the board does not approve the proposal, she said a therapist will begin providing services even if it's at a loss.

"We're not prepared to pull the plug if we don't get the funding. That wouldn't be fair to the school," Burger said.

In the proposal, Burger cites statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health that report 214 youths -- or 5 percent of Perry County's population -- already are receiving mental-health services.

The statistics also state 26.7 percent of the county's population is comprised of young people, 16.3 percent of whom live in poverty.

By bringing in a school-based therapist, Burger said the CCC hopes to target potential dropouts, alleviate bullying and connect children with needed services.

That includes working closely with teachers and administrators to spot problems as early as possible.

In situations that have escalated, the therapist also will provide crisis intervention services.

"It's immediate access to a mental-health professional," she said.

Andrew Comstock, District 32's superintendent, said another issue the therapist will help address is suicide, although he wasn't sure how big an issue it is in Perry County.

"Any suicide is a problem," he said. "Whatever we can do to help ... we'll do what we can."

The biggest challenge will be finding office space for the therapist, he said, as space at the high school is at a premium.

Otherwise, he and others in the district welcome the effort.

"It's been very successful in Ste. Genevieve County and Cape County," he said.

ljones@semissourian.com

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