What it is and how we can help
Sponsored by the Nevada and Placer County Behavioral Health Departments, the Nevada Joint Union High School District Student Assistance Program (SAP/STARS), the Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District, Bitney Prep High School and Forest Charter, What’s Up? Wellness Checkups emotional health teen screenings are being offered at your high school. Funding has been provided by the County of Placer and County of Nevada Mental Health Services Act.
What is What’s Up?
What’s Up? Wellness Checkups is based on Columbia University's Teen Screen program which screens high school students for suicide risk, depression, substance abuse and other emotional health challenges. In such a critical time as adolescence, we hope to provide initial prevention and support to those students who need it.
How did it start & who is involved?
Over a decade ago a group of concerned families and providers in Nevada County began discussing how we could come together and embrace a prevention program that would provide universal, free and confidential emotional health screenings to our teens. Columbia University's TeenScreen program fit the bill for our community. TeenScreen has since changed hands and is now administered by Stanford University. Nevada County Behavioral Health with the support of the Suicide Prevention Task Force found a way to bring this program to our schools in the fall of 2012 with Mental Health Services Act funding. Both the NJUHSD and TTUSD school districts came on board. The team of Galen Ellis, MPH, Shellee Sepko, LMFT and Jen Rhi Winders, MSW were awarded the contract and began screening in Spring of 2013. In 2018 Forest Charter School came on board. There are currently the following screening team: Program Director Shellee Ann Sepko, LMFT, Assistant Program Director Jen Rhi Winders, MSW, Clinical Coordinator Suzanne McMaster, LCSW. Screening clinicians and casemanagers include: Dyan Johnson, LPCC, Amanda Downs, LMFT, Talia Madrigale, LCSW, Kristen Darling, Nikki Riley and Xylem Larla Dey. Irma Calderon serves as the program's Spanish language translator and Catherine Janecke assists with bookkeeping.
How does it work in the schools?
Screens are open to any other grade students upon recommendation and parent consent.
What services does it provide?
What’s Up? Wellness Checkup starts with a one-time meeting that can take between 15 to 45 minutes. This includes a computerized questionnaire and a follow-up interview with What’s Up? staff to provide support, and if needed, referrals for further help.
For those students whose screen indicates the need for further support, What’s Up? staff will notify parents and work to help families identify services that will best meet their teens needs and provides time limited casemanagement services to ensure a successful treatment connection. What's Up? also offers in-school groups as an added resource for students to access.
How can I be sure my student gets screened?
Parent consent forms are required for screening, and should be received by families either via US Mail or on-line enrollment packets with downloadable versions available here. Incoming 9th graders families in NJUHSD should receive a consent form in their enrollment packets in the Spring, with screening to begin in the fall. TTUSD 9th grade families will be receiving their consents this fall. We encourage students to return consents to the front desk or their school counselor if they have not been mailed to their school or district office. We accept consents throughout the semester.
Other questions you might have:
Will we be pressured into using medications?
Our program is not affiliated with any pharmaceutical companies. The checkup is NOT a diagnosis. We refer students to a variety of resources including therapists, support groups, church supports, physicians and psychologists.
Will everyone at the school find out about this?
We hold to strict school and state confidentiality standards. We are not affiliated with the schools, although we have a cooperative agreement to be on campus screening. We do not share your teens screen results with any school staff without written parental consent.
My child seems fine, why should I bother?
Your teen can serve as a role model for their friends. After the screen, they may be able to let a friend they are concerned about that the screening process exists, and share their experiences, helping to normalize the screen for all teens. The reality is, the more students we screen, the more likely we are able to continue to bring this service to our schools, in turn finding the students who truly need help.
My child is already getting help, should they still get screened?
If your teen is already getting help, the screen can support those services by offering a current snapshot of their emotional health that with parental permission can be given to their treatment provider. Again, we encourage all youth to get screened, as it normalizes the importance of mental health checkups. Just as we check annually for vision and hearing, we can send the message that it is equally as critical to check on emotional health.
Thanks for ensuring the health and happiness of our community’s youth!
What is What’s Up?
What’s Up? Wellness Checkups is based on Columbia University's Teen Screen program which screens high school students for suicide risk, depression, substance abuse and other emotional health challenges. In such a critical time as adolescence, we hope to provide initial prevention and support to those students who need it.
How did it start & who is involved?
Over a decade ago a group of concerned families and providers in Nevada County began discussing how we could come together and embrace a prevention program that would provide universal, free and confidential emotional health screenings to our teens. Columbia University's TeenScreen program fit the bill for our community. TeenScreen has since changed hands and is now administered by Stanford University. Nevada County Behavioral Health with the support of the Suicide Prevention Task Force found a way to bring this program to our schools in the fall of 2012 with Mental Health Services Act funding. Both the NJUHSD and TTUSD school districts came on board. The team of Galen Ellis, MPH, Shellee Sepko, LMFT and Jen Rhi Winders, MSW were awarded the contract and began screening in Spring of 2013. In 2018 Forest Charter School came on board. There are currently the following screening team: Program Director Shellee Ann Sepko, LMFT, Assistant Program Director Jen Rhi Winders, MSW, Clinical Coordinator Suzanne McMaster, LCSW. Screening clinicians and casemanagers include: Dyan Johnson, LPCC, Amanda Downs, LMFT, Talia Madrigale, LCSW, Kristen Darling, Nikki Riley and Xylem Larla Dey. Irma Calderon serves as the program's Spanish language translator and Catherine Janecke assists with bookkeeping.
How does it work in the schools?
- NJUHSD: Each spring, all 8th grade students receive a consent form in their 9th grade NJUHSD enrollment packets for students to be screened in the following school year.
- TTUSD: Incoming 9th graders will receive a consent for screening in the mail for students to be screened in the following school year.
- Forest Charter: Teachers will provide consents to parents/guardians during their teacher meetings.
- Bitney Prep: Consents are in enrollment packets for all students in the fall.
Screens are open to any other grade students upon recommendation and parent consent.
What services does it provide?
What’s Up? Wellness Checkup starts with a one-time meeting that can take between 15 to 45 minutes. This includes a computerized questionnaire and a follow-up interview with What’s Up? staff to provide support, and if needed, referrals for further help.
For those students whose screen indicates the need for further support, What’s Up? staff will notify parents and work to help families identify services that will best meet their teens needs and provides time limited casemanagement services to ensure a successful treatment connection. What's Up? also offers in-school groups as an added resource for students to access.
How can I be sure my student gets screened?
Parent consent forms are required for screening, and should be received by families either via US Mail or on-line enrollment packets with downloadable versions available here. Incoming 9th graders families in NJUHSD should receive a consent form in their enrollment packets in the Spring, with screening to begin in the fall. TTUSD 9th grade families will be receiving their consents this fall. We encourage students to return consents to the front desk or their school counselor if they have not been mailed to their school or district office. We accept consents throughout the semester.
Other questions you might have:
Will we be pressured into using medications?
Our program is not affiliated with any pharmaceutical companies. The checkup is NOT a diagnosis. We refer students to a variety of resources including therapists, support groups, church supports, physicians and psychologists.
Will everyone at the school find out about this?
We hold to strict school and state confidentiality standards. We are not affiliated with the schools, although we have a cooperative agreement to be on campus screening. We do not share your teens screen results with any school staff without written parental consent.
My child seems fine, why should I bother?
Your teen can serve as a role model for their friends. After the screen, they may be able to let a friend they are concerned about that the screening process exists, and share their experiences, helping to normalize the screen for all teens. The reality is, the more students we screen, the more likely we are able to continue to bring this service to our schools, in turn finding the students who truly need help.
My child is already getting help, should they still get screened?
If your teen is already getting help, the screen can support those services by offering a current snapshot of their emotional health that with parental permission can be given to their treatment provider. Again, we encourage all youth to get screened, as it normalizes the importance of mental health checkups. Just as we check annually for vision and hearing, we can send the message that it is equally as critical to check on emotional health.
Thanks for ensuring the health and happiness of our community’s youth!