For Our Children

Topics	Job training and adult education Mental health Nurses Youth
States served	Alabama
Description	The For Our Children project is a collaborative effort among Crenshaw Baptist Hospital, Baptist Health, Crenshaw County Board of Education, Crenshaw County Mental Health Center, and Crenshaw County Health Department to provide unmet health care needs to approximately 2,500 students attending Crenshaw County public schools. Before the grant, there was only one school nurse to provide services to the entire student body in all three local public schools.
Services offered	Through the ORHP grant, each of the county's three public schools now has a full-time Registered Nurse and one dedicated social worker who divides her time among the schools. Nurses provide the students with health assessments, preventive care, medication administration, emergency care, vision/hearing/scoliosis screenings, head lice checks, monitoring for appropriate immunizations, health-related education, transportation, and appropriate referrals as needed. The social worker serves as a student advocate and mentor and works with school counselors and teachers to identify student needs and make appropriate referrals. The Crenshaw County Health and Mental Health Departments provide treatment, screenings, vaccines, and education through Federal and State programs to referred clients. They also keep network members abreast of new and existing programs, and actively participate in special school health events. Students also receive mental health screenings, and support group therapy is made available to children and parents.
Results	The project objective to provide improved health care services to 2,500 K - 12 students met with 85 percent success. Increasing student access to social and mental health services achieved an 80 percent success rate. Improving parent health knowledge and participation in responding to their children's needs received a 65 percent rate. Some delays in service provision were due to unforeseen and unavoidable project personnel and management changes. Overall, the project was very successful.
Replication	Many rural school systems do not receive adequate State funding to provide sufficient nurses and social workers in their schools. Consequently, rural school students do not receive the medical attention they need. Often the only medical screenings rural school students do receive are from nurses and social workers. As such, the For Our Children project model would benefit many rural communities. Because sufficient staffing is needed to adequately provide screenings, nurse and social worker visits, health promotions and education, as well grant duties, the project coordinator duties should not be combined with school nurse duties.
Source	Outreach Sourcebook, Vol. 9, 1999-2002, Office of Rural Health Policy
Contact person	Brenda Kervin, Grant Coordinator Crenshaw Baptist Hospital 101 Baptist Lane Luverne, AL 36049 Phone: (334) 527-8879, (334) 335-3374 Fax: (334) 335-5636
Date added	July 7, 2005

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