By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Horizons Mental Health Center is preparing to open the Learn and Play Therapeutic Center for preschoolers who need mental health assistance in the south end of the former Dillon Living Center.
"We would have this intensive intervention, so that these children can successfully go back to the environment they were referred to us from," said clinical director Brenda Brown. "Our hope is for it to be somewhat short-term, depending on the needs of the child and the family to help them get back into a regular, normal environment and they can succeed in the school setting."
USD 308 Head Start students will be referred to the program if it is deemed necessary, but parents from other districts can access it, as well.
"My attendant care workers will work in the classrooms at one to four ratios, so they are more like the teachers, especially during the summer," said Kylee Gross, licensed marriage and family therapist with Horizons. "During the school year, we'll have Head Start with USD 308 be able to provide the education piece. They'll be in the classroom as well as the attendant care workers. We also have a case manager that will be working with each of the kids one on one while they're in the smaller classroom sizes, being able to provide that support, being able to teach them the skills that they need and prompting them and practicing those things with them."
The primary source of funding for the program will come from Medicaid dollars.
"If parents want to know more, it's really simple, they can just call us at (620) 663-7595 and find out when our open access is," Brown said. "The reason I say that right now, is we're in the middle of this COVID crisis and some of the open access has been a little bit changed. Hopefully soon, we'll be back to normal and we'll be able to have people just come on down. They will be able to receive an intake from one of our six really qualified, trained intake clinicians and they will be able to hook them up with Kylie and get them into the program if they qualify."
The program will initially be limited to two or three classrooms with around 10 kids each.