FY24 HFY1: Rising Wellness Behavior began their contract in September 2023 due to the prior vendor exiting their contract on July 1. Rising Wellness provides trauma therapy to students at two elementary schools (Conowingo and Cecil Manor). Their caseload is full and there is currently a waitlist.

FY24 HFY2: Rising Wellness has continued to provide trauma therapy to youth in Cecil Manor and Conowingo elementary schools. Surveys were administered to school staff and families in May regarding services. Surveys were re-sent to families and school staff in June. No school/staff surveys were returned. In this narrative, please see explanation of the difference of numbers form mid-year to end of year reporting. From the start of using this performance measures spreadsheet, it was evident that the way the spread sheet was laid out and the way data collection points were asked to be collected did not accurately collect or reflect the work being done. Discussions on continued clarification on this were ongoing in regards to where to reference students/caregivers who engaged from years prior and the discrepancies between the data collection sections which calculates the number of students referred that month with the number of engagements that month. Clarification and assistance in defining those data points lead to the changes noted as well. The main changes are a result of changing the number of referrals captured in October of 2023. This data point was changed after reports for December of 2023 were submitted. Through December 2023 the numbers collected here reflected only the new referrals that month for the current funding year. This number did not include representation for students and/or caregivers who returned to the program (not via a new referral) from the previous year, making it so that the report we provided documented support for only half of the clients we served. In January of 2024, a meeting occurred between LMB and vendor to discuss that the way data had been recorded on the Performance Measures up to date did not capture all information as it did not include returning students/caregivers from years prior. It was determined in this meeting that vendor was to go back and include in row 10 and 11 all children/caregivers whom are served under this grant for this year under the month they engaged (TO INCLUDE returning clients whom were originally not included here). Vendor included those returning from the year prior beginning in October and ongoing based on when they reengaged with RWC again. This accounts for the large number change in October as originally only 5 new referrals were made that month, but when you include students that month that returned to services from last the number changed to 10). Changes to reflect caregivers and students reengaging from last year are also noted in other sections of this report. Vendor corrected data collection as requested and this was again done to make sure somewhere on the spreadsheet the entire number of students/caregivers being served under the grant was being captured. As a result of changing the way things were documented as detailed above, additional data in other rows had to be adjusted. Once returning students and caregivers were accounted for from the previous year the following other rows were affected 11,15,16,23, and 24 to reflect the tracking of the returning clients from the year prior appropriately. In summation, limitations and confusion surrounding completion of the spread sheet lead to reporting errors. Another meeting occurred in September of 2024 with all relevant parties to identify the data collection areas that caused issues during reporting this year as it has been determined that this spreadsheet does not accurately allow for accurate data collection. Another factor that contributed to data changes that were addressed in this meeting included redefining what constitutes WHEN a student or caregiver has been considered referred. It has now been determined that a referral will be documented during the month the LMB receives the referral. In this meeting with relevant parties, notes were made defining what information needs to be captured in each section and adjustments were made to ensure sections accurately documented work done. All Performance Measure going forward will follow the new documentation decisions to avoid errors and maintain accuracy through FY25

FY23 HFY1: The Trauma Supports program embeds a therapist within two high-needs schools, Conowingo Elementary and Cecil Manor Elementary, to assist staff and students with management of behavioral health issues. The program serves both youth and their caregivers, with services provided in school or out of school. The therapist also supports and trains school staff members in trauma-informed practices and assists with crisis response as needed.

FY23 HFY2: Trauma supports continued full steam in HFY2. Caseloads remained at full capacity in both schools. School staff were trained in trauma-informed practiced and therapists continued to respond to crisis in the school.

FY24 HFY1: A challenge for the trauma therapy provider was the late start as it took some time to contract with the new provider. There has been some difficulty in contacting and engaging students at Cecil Manor elementary school. By collaborating with the schools, successful attempts were made to minimize the barriers. Rising Wellness initially provided services twice a week at Cecil Manor and once a week at Conowingo elementary school. Rising Wellness added a third clinician and an additional day at Conowingo elementary school to meet the needs of students. School staff surveys were scheduled to be administered at the end of December however, a Cecil Manor Student passed away due to a house fire. Due to the tragedy, school staff was focusing on providing support to the school, families and community.

FY24 HFY2: The month of May saw a decrease in referrals as end of year case planning approached and caseloads were full. Staff surveys were shared twice and zero responses were received. The survey link was shared with the Principal to disseminate however, Rising Wellness unsure if these surveys were shared with staff. In FY 25, Rising Wellness plans to share the survey link with administrative staff to share as they are usually the pulse of the school. There was little luck with family surveys as well. In FY25, there will be more face to face sessions and Rising Wellness anticipates this will result in capturing more surveys.

FY23 HFY1: Therapists working for the program report that families learn skills and ways to communicate as they address various traumas. Most families are engaged, with parents/grandparents involved and working on repairing attachment issues for the child. Children seeing their caregivers involved in therapy sets a positive example for their own participation and engagement. Families have shown a willingness to engage in trainings and learn from resources, and are interested to understand the effects of trauma on behavior and the brain. On the other hand, some caregivers do not appreciate the positive effects therapy might have and are not engaged in or around sessions. Families may be irregular in their attendance of sessions, and in some cases virtual therapy is challenging due to no "safe space" for clients to talk in their homes or due to numerous distractions. Finally, some families are resistant to learning new approaches, and there may be generational gaps that impede the caregiver's willingness and receptivity to see things from a new perspective.

FY23 HFY2: There are more referrals than open spots in the program. This led to a waitlist. Caregivers were able to be served via telehealth via provders that were not on site in the schools. This allowed for families to have access to therapy. Families made progress in understanding their child's trauma. 90% of staff in the schools reported "strongly agree" to trauma support being an asset in schools.