The Resilient Cardinal
Because You Matter
September 2021
Student and Family Assistance Program Expansion Starts September 1st!
The Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District has partnered with REALiving and Group Health Cooperative to offer a Student and Family Assistance Program (SFAP) to help students, parents/caregivers. and their families to be their very BEST both at school and at home!
This program, offered at no cost to our students or their family members, will provide up to 4 parent coaching sessions AND 4 counseling sessions to each family in the school district.
Parent coaching is an additional support for families interested in implementing positive
changes in their home. Parent coaches provide tools, ideas, and support; they are not providing therapy. This service provides parents/caregivers with hands-on strategies for improving their child’s behavior and is customized to each family. Some of the topics include:
- Aggression
- Defiance
- Sibling relationships
- Self-care for the parent
- Setting boundaries
- Parenting practices
- Divorce
- Grief and loss
- Supporting your child’s physical, emotional, and social development
- Devices or gaming
- Diet and exercise
Counseling services are designed to be short-term, solution-focused, and are provided by an
affiliate network of mental health agencies in our community. Some of the topics this program can help you with include:
- Academic struggles
- Discipline issues
- Household stressors
- Stress, depression, and anxiety
- Anger management
- Drugs and alcohol
- Grief
- Marital issues
- Divorce
- Relationship challenges
- Bullying
- Eating disorders
- Unplanned pregnancy
Both services are confidential. Students and/or parents may contact our Call Center to seek
authorization or ask questions about these services 24 hours per day, 7 days per week! School administrators, teachers, social workers, therapists and/or counselors may also recommend this support to students, parents, and their families.
Student and Family Assistance Program Usage Over Time
2018-2019 Data:
* We anticipated 250 counseling sessions to be delivered. Over 400 counseling sessions were delivered.
*There were 201 authorizations, but some families split their 4 sessions across more than one child. There were 169 different families that utilized the program.
Adjustments for 2019-2020:
* We increased the number of anticipated sessions to 325.
2019-2020 Data:
* We anticipated 325 counseling sessions for this year. We delivered 349
2020-2021 Data:
* We anticipated 325 counseling sessions for this year. As of 8/19 we have delivered 316 sessions, but the data will not be finalized until 8/31.
2021-2022 Data:
* We are anticipating 325 counseling sessions and 325 parent coaching sessions for this year.
Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA)
Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) Information
Information about PD days:
On the October 28th and January 24th professional development days our district will be training over 200 staff members in Youth Mental Health First Aid. Elementary non-classroom teachers, Central Office Staff, Cardinal CLC staff, and possibly some bus drivers will be trained on October 28th, and Food Service Staff will be trained on January 24th.
There have been several changes that have taken place in this training to make it virtual. One of the biggest changes is that there needs to be 2 hours of pre-work done before the training takes place. Because of this, please utilize the September 24th PD day for you to complete this pre-work. It needs to be turned in anywhere from 3-7 days before the training in October.
Your pre-work needs to be turned in before you can join Zoom for the training.
Each presenter will be given a list of staff members that are assigned to them. The presenter is in charge of enrolling those staff members into the Youth Mental Health First Aid database. The list of participants was done on an alphabetical basis.
You should be receiving an e-mail with instructions on what to do for your pre-work, and how to log-in to your zoom training. Please do not disregard any e-mails you will be getting about Youth Mental Health First Aid.
Here is what the schedule for the day will look like:
8-10:30am: Work time, your instructor may get ahold of you
10:30am - Virtual Session begins
12:00pm-12:45pm Lunch Break
12:45pm-Virtual Session resumes
2pm-2:15pm break
2:15-Virtual session resumes
3:30-Virtual session ends
Mocha is available for co-facilitated small groups again!
Mocha is a miniature service/therapy horse that worked with students at Jim Falls, Parkview, and Southview last spring. Mocha is 32 inches tall and 10 years old. She has a big heart, loves helping people, and loves to see people smile. Mocha would love to come back and work with students again! We are very excited to welcome Mocha as one of our therapy animals available!
Some Benefits of Equine Therapy
- Increased trust.
- Reduced anxiety.
- Less feeling of depression and isolation.
- Increased self-esteem, self-acceptance, and social skills.
- Better impulse control.
- Increased problem-solving skills.
- Improved communication skills, including non-verbal.
- Better understanding of healthy boundaries and the importance of assertiveness.
Project AWARE grant accomplishments
Helpful Flyers (BOTH NEW AND UPDATED!)
Helpful Links
EAP Information
To schedule an appointment with the Employee Achievement Program (EAP):
*Call 1-877-256-9302.
Counseling
Counseling services are available to employees and their immediate family members.
To see a list of affiliate counseling agencies, CLICK HERE. Once you have the agency and location you prefer, call our 24/7 Call Center at 1.877.256.9302 for an authorization number to schedule your appointment(s).
Professional Coaching
REALiving offers professional coaching services to help you be the best in all aspects of your life. These services are provided in person, via telephone, or via video. REALiving coaches can assist you in skill exploration, building strengths, and other skill development to enhance your work performance. Click here to learn about each one of the REALiving coaches available.
To access other information or REALiving materials visit:
Username: CFAUSDistrict@realiving.com
Password: cfausd_employee
EAP On Demand
Other Support Available
Professional Coaches available within district
Jamie Ganske : ganskejl@chipfalls.org x3007
Amy Erickson: ericksae@chipfalls.org x2463
What is a Professional Coach?
As a professional striving to be your BEST, you may seek someone at times to help you achieve a goal or improve your performance. A coach is there to help with professional development in areas such as organizational skills, leadership development, communication skills, and work/life balance. Important questions to ask yourself as you start the coaching process are: "What do I want to get out of this? What abilities and skill sets do I want to discover and master? How do I want to show up differently so I am my BEST?
A BESTology Professional Coach can also help you navigate setting up EAP resources.
If you are feeling overwhelmed or distressed over COVID-19, you can call a distress line at
1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746.
Text HOPELINE to 741741
Northwest Connections Crisis Line 1-888-552-6642
Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Chippewa Valley Free Clinic 715-839-8477
Open Door Clinic 715-720-1443
Wellness Shack 715-855-7705
HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital Outpatient 715-717-5899
L.E. Phillips Libertas Treatment Center 1-800-680-4578 or 715-723-5585
HSHS Sacred Heart The Healing Place 715-717-6028 *Not currently available*
Marshfield Behavioral Health 715-858-4850
Mayo Health System Outpatient 715-838-5369
Chippewa Cty Mental Health and Recovery Services 715-726-7788
If you have additional questions about mental health resources in the
Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District, please see www.cardinalcare.info
Jamie Ganske
Email: ganskejl@chipfalls.org
Website: www.cardinalcare.info
Phone: 715.726.2414 3007