Board of Health

Skokie Board of Health Thursday, November 14, 2024 7:00 pm Conference Room D&E, Village Hall, 5127 Oakton St MINUTES In attendance: Dr. Bruce Gaynes, Dr. Michael Gottesman, Maureen Hanlon, Dr. Girijia Kalyan Kumar, Margaret Keeler, Dr. Stephen Lupovitch, Dr. Kyungran Shim, Dr. Romil Sood, Patricia Urbanus, Irtaza Usman, Ruth Varma, Sibyl Yau; Liaison (Vice-Chair); Staff Liaison: Mike Charley; Not in attendance: Dr. Swapna Dave, Juliet Haido, Dr. Edward Linn (Chair), Heidi Nickisch Duggan, Rohit Pandya, Dr. William Werner, Dr. Larry Williams; Trustee James Johnson Trustee Keith Robinson I. Call to Order at 7:00 PM II. Approval of Agenda, Approved, first by Keeler, second by Hanlon III. Approval of Minutes: October 10, 2024 Meeting, Approved, first by Keeler, second by Hanlon IV. District 219: Supporting Student Well-Being: Addressing Behavioral Health in Our School Community, Felix Caceres - Niles West School Psychologist and Tony Meier - Assistant Director of Student Services. Mike Charley provided an introduction to this agenda item, communicating that at Dr. Werner had previously recommended that the BOH invite staff from School District 219 to come to a BOH meeting to discuss youth mental health. Charley reached out to District 219 and scheduled District 219 to present at tonight’s BOH meeting. Caceras and Meier presented on “Youth Mental Health in D219”, and their presentation included a Powerpoint presentation. They introduced themselves and first provided an overview of District 219’s four locations, Niles North, Niles West, Niles Central and Bridges, they included each school’s student population and an overview of the Student Services’ staffing at each location. There presentation answered the following questions: A. What are the most common behavioral health challenges students are facing today? Their list included School Refusal/Attendance, Anxiety/Depression, Unhealthy Relationships, Social Media/Cell Phone Use (shapes perceptions of self), Homelessness (behavioral/emotional issues related to homelessness), Immigration, Drug use/Vaping, Bullying B. How does the school identify students who may be struggling with behavioral health issues? They described that the school district uses a problem-solving team/pupil services team structure, which includes staff meeting weekly, using data systems to identify health issues, team discussion and a team approach to determining best supports for students. They use various indicators to identify behavioral health problems including such things as falling grades, problematic Doc#: 623308, Version:1  attendance, increased usage of mental health days, student/parent self-reporting, statements/actions of self-harm, “Gaggle” alerts and a semi-annual Panarama Education survey. C. What specific behavioral health programs or interventions does the school offer? Examples of programs and interventions include: School based support providing individual and group support. Common group interventions (Mindfulness, Skittles, Transfer, Art Stress Reduction, Gratitude, Young Men, Young Women, Social Skills, Executive Functioning, Asian Pacific Islander, Anxiety/Stress, Latinx Affinity, Caught between 2 Worlds, Social Communications). They also use Panorama (data is used to create groups and identify students in need of individual support). They have partnerships with outside agencies: (Peer Services, National Alliance On Mental Illness, Go Lime Green, Freshman Coping Skills, Senior Transition From High School). They use restorative Practices through the Peer Reconciliation Committee. They also use Dean Interventions (Hate Speech, Vape Educate, etc.). They conduct staff training/awareness: (CPI, Trauma Responsive Educational Practices). Finally, they manage students identified with IEP’s and are on 504 Plans. D. How does the school involve families in addressing students’ behavioral health concerns? They conduct parent presentations and have a parent’s advisory council, they have parent advocates that provide for translation and school support, they conduct parent/teacher conferences, they have well attended open houses and have several student groups including: Cafesito (Latino Parents), AFFINITY (African/Black Caribbean), Chai Pe Charcha (South Asian), Suraye (Assyrian). E. What supports are available for students during a behavioral health crisis? They have immediate access to a Student Services team, they have a Threat Assessment Team, the conduct health/safety assessments, conduct homicidal assessments, they partner with Glenview Youth Services and have “Screening, Assessment and Support Services (SASS). F. How does the school collaborate with external behavioral health providers or community resources? Their Student Services maintains a list of mental/behavioral health providers, they hold an annual resource fair, they have a homebound tutoring post hospitalization program and they work with agencies like Glenview Youth Services, Peer Services and NAMI. G. How does the school collaborate with parents who are not proficient in English? They have District 219 Family Liaisons, which is a district team that provides translation support and assistance in navigating the school system. They also have several support groups including Affinity (African-Black-Caribbean), Arabic, Assyrian, Gujarati, Hindi, Korean, Spanish, Urdu. Finally, they use language line solutions that are on-demand telephonic translation services and support. V. BOH Chair Updates: None VI. Director of Health and Human Services Updates, Mike Charley: Charley provided some general updates including how Health and Human Services (HHS) is partnering with Advocate Health Care to provide free flu vaccine to children at 10 different Skokie schools, HHS recently launched the annual Assist a Family fundraising campaign and HHS’s senior health insurance program volunteers offer appointments to assist Skokie Doc#: 623308, Version:1  residents with Medicare open enrollment that started on October 15 and ends on December 7. HHS recently promoted Derek Walker to a full-time Environmental Control Officer and hired Jess Baylon, a new part-time Community Health Worker. A. Cannabis Flyer & Education: Earlier in October HHS and the Village finalized the Cannabis education flyer that was developed through Board of Health research and guidance. Information on the safe and responsible use of cannabis was included in the Village’s weekly newsletter “the Scoop” on October 23. As part of the cannabis education campaign, HHS has 300 cannabis lockable stash bags to give away to Skokie residents. B. Backyard Chickens Update: The BOH voted at the October meeting to recommend the Village retain the prohibition on chicken keeping. Following the meeting Dr. Linn and Mike Charley drafted a memo to Mayor George VanDusen and Village Manager John Lockerby communicating the BOH’s recommendation. Backyard Chickens has been added as an agenda item under “New Business” for the Monday November 18, 2024 Village Board meeting. Dr. Linn will be presenting the Board of Health’s chicken keeping recommendation and the rationale behind the recommendation. Mike Charley will also be present at the Village Board meeting to support Dr. Linn and answer any questions that arise. VII. Old Business: None VIII. New Business: None IX. Public Comments: Note X. Adjournment at 8:06 PM Next Regular Meeting: December 12, 2024 @ 7:00 p.m. Doc#: 623308, Version:1