The Federally Recognized Tribe of Lac Courte Oreilles, as the Tribal Education Agency for Ojibwe students, will implement the Lac Courte Oreilles Project AWARE program, a sustainable school-based mental health program that will build the necessary culturally and trauma informed care infrastructure in all Ojibwe serving LEA’s in Sawyer County, including, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Schools, Akii-gikinoo'amaading Charter school, Hayward Community Schools, and the school District of Winter who together, serve over 2,500 students.
Lac Courte Oreilles Project AWARE program will increase the capacity for sustainable trauma informed mental health infrastructure in educational agencies that serve Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe students on and off reservation that will address the contributing factors that result in negative outcomes from untreated and suppressed mental health to improve the lives and futures of our students to improve the lives of those in our community by ensuring the implementation plan accomplishes: 1) universal prevention for our student population to promote healthy social and emotional understanding and skills; 2) selective interventions for our exhibiting risky behaviors to reduce the cause of problem behaviors, and build social and emotional skills for healthier functioning; 3) and indicated interventions for individual students that exhibit severe problem behaviors and emotions.
Lac Courte Oreilles’ Community Health Center’s behavioral health provider, Bizhiki Wellness, will support School-Based Mental Health Therapists to provide direct services to participating LEA’s along with the creation of policies & procedure, workforce building plan, student suicide awareness training policy, and prevention and intervention services. By the end of each project year, 75% of students identified by mental health issues or at-risk behaviors will progress in treatment plans with counselors, counselors will have maintained contact and continued treatment plans with at least 65% of students needing care, 80% of staff at participating LEA’s and 95% of students will have at least maintained an understanding of culturally relevant trauma informed care, mental health literacy, mental health and substance abuse awareness.
The project objectives address students' success in treatment plans, and promoting mental health awareness and resilience, prevention and interventions activities and pathways, and address student needs by ensuring that the impoverished and rural Ojibwe community students have equity in access to mental health providers who are historically, culturally, and trauma informed experts that prioritize building trusting effective relationships with our students and families.