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Joint Meeting of Selectmen and School Committee Page 2 of 5 Ms. Fields presented town profiles and findings from Action, Arlington, Bedford, Concord, Natick, Needham, Newton, Wellesley, and Westford and followed this analysis with comparable data points from Lexington. Categories included: total population; school population; Health and Human Services programs; clinical staff numbers; program types; if referral services are provided; and if the town has established a mental health coalition. Different models and approaches emerged in this analysis. Each town has developed programs tailored to fit its individual needs. For example, Ms. Fields noted that Acton does not employ clinical staff but does have a Youth Center that serves its relatively large youth population. That facility was originally funded privately. Arlington has a staffed mental health clinic and a youth counseling center funded by an Enterprise Fund/fee for services model. Acton, Arlington, Natick, Needham, and Newton all have mental health coalitions. Seven of the towns offer mental health referral services, using the William James interface that “spans the lifecycle.” Most referral programs, if not all, started with the help of matching funds but eventually came under the Town/School funding model. All towns except one continue to use the William James program; the lone town that dropped out now wants to return. Lexington, compared to other towns, has a large school-to-total population ratio; it has no mental health coalition and no third party referral services but it does have a well-developed Human Services department with 5 clinical staff/ 4+ non-clinical staff. This staff provides assistance for seniors, youth, veterans, and those in need of public transportation services. Ms. Fields emphasized that Lexington does provide crisis intervention and that an effort has now begun to establish a mental health task force/coalition. Ms. Fields reported that in 2008, the Human Services Committee recognized Lexington had no designated Youth department. Since then, additional staff have been hired to provide a safety net. However, demands on the Human Services department continue to grow: Since 2015, the number of seniors requesting assistance has increase by 40%; the non-senior category has risen 20%; and the number of residents seeking mental health and support services has increase 129%. Human Services recognizes that it is critical to work collaboratively in order to meet these demands; additional staff will probably be needed over time to expand capacity. More parenting, psycho-educational, and other complementary/supplementary programs are needed. It was noted that 340 people recently participated in a program called “The Secret Life of Teens.” Charlotte Rodgers, Director of Human Services, reviewed the four-step integrated mental health program Lexington now follows: identification, intervention, prevention, and post-vention. The CHNA15 grant will increase the ability to provide more prevention activities. Mr. Rodgers noted that one common factor in towns with effective mental health programs is a strong Parks and Recreation department. Melissa Interess, Assistant Director of Senior Services, presented a summary of “Challenges and Opportunities” sorted into three key categories: Supportive Mental Health Services; Interdepartmental Communication; Education and Training. Those three categories were then broken down into “areas staff can address/impact” and “challenges the Town might not easily