Today, it is understood and widely accepted that students are facing tremendous mental health challenges. As the Regional Office of Education, we know access to mental health care can make a significant difference in the lives of students. Unfortunately, families trying to find support and counseling for their children encounter many obstacles to receiving care when they need it. While schools play a vital role in supporting students’ well-being, they are primarily designed to provide education and foster academic development.

In 2023, ROE learned of a grant opportunity to implement a mental health care pilot program, with funding support from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). Multiple partners came together to form a collaborative called CARES: Community, Advocacy, Resilience, Engagement & Supports.

This initiative started closing the mental health gap by providing accessible, specialized care for students with robust care navigation services. The final report outlines why additional mental health support has become so crucial for students, how the collaborative was formed, positive program outcomes and recommendations for and scalability.

The ROE team and I were honored to play a role in this successful pilot program, which proudly served ten DuPage districts. We are excited to share the positive outcomes in this report and will continue pursuing opportunities to expand the program across all districts in DuPage County.

– Amber Quirk, Regional Superintendent of Schools DuPage County