School Based Support Services

From learning difficulties to family crises to depression – there are many different reasons why students struggle in school. When these struggles become overwhelming, a student’s health and safety are at risk, as well as the likelihood of successfully finishing school. Fortunately, in Butler County, hundreds of at-risk high school students daily move closer to graduation and a more promising future thanks to the School Based Support Services program partnership between LifeSpan and local schools. School Based Support Workers are employees of LifeSpan but work on-site in schools. They support students in several ways including:

• Academic Assistance: helping students set goals to get them on track for graduation, then working with them, their parents and teachers to help them achieve those goals.
• Mental Health Education: providing crisis intervention and referrals for mental health issues including depression, anxiety or eating disorders.
• Physical Assistance: making referrals to community agencies that provide food, clothing, emergency shelter, medical or dental care.

The LifeSpan School Based Support Services team annually surveys staff and students at the schools it serves to find out if the program is making a significant impact. Consistently almost 100% of the surveys show that the program makes a positive difference in terms of student attendance, behavior and academic progress.