2022 COMBAT Funding: $25,000.00

In Plaza Academy's Own Words

Plaza Academy provides much-needed substance abuse treatment counseling and mental health services to an under-served population in Jackson County. Our therapists work closely with our teaching staff to provide consultation and coordination of care for our adolescents. Our therapists, in addition to providing case management, individual, group, and family therapy, also attend IEP meetings and parent-teacher conferences to enhance communication.

Services Provided To Each Student

Our therapeutic services are provided to each of our students and their families. Families who had not been able to attend therapy due to cost or transportation constraints have an improved ability to do so with services being delivered in the school setting. This creates a community in which our students, parents and staff all work together to turn youth suffering from drug and alcohol addiction, and on the verge of dropping out of high school, into confident high school graduates and contributing members of society.

Individual, Family & Group Counseling (And More)

The Plaza Academy's outpatient substance abuse program provides services for all of our 7th- 12th-grade students who are all at-risk for substance abuse due to their lack of success in their previous environment. This program provides individual counseling, family counseling, group counseling, group education, case management, and special education services for our students.

Research has shown that adolescents that stay in school and receive substance abuse counseling and education, are more likely than their peers to remain drug-free.

Tailored Treatment

Upon enrollment, students are given a drug and alcohol screening as well as a psychological assessment by our social worker. Our social worker assesses the needs of each student to create an individually tailored treatment plan. The assessment includes demographic and family information and mental health history.

If students require additional services that are not available at Plaza Academy, our social worker will refer the family to other resources in the community. These services may include psychiatric care, medical care, food banks, and other social service needs.

Our social worker also acts as a case manager, scheduling appointments as needed, and tracking progress. Students enrolled at Plaza Academy participate in group education, individual therapy, and family therapy as a condition of their enrollment. Utilization of these resources, as well as a commitment to our program, all help our students remain abstinent.

About Plaza Academy

Plaza Academy has a population of students that have not been served by other schools in our metropolitan area. Our students have been long term suspended or expelled from their previous schools. Poor academic achievements, dangerous or risky peer relationships, and combative or oppositional behaviors at home are commonly seen in these adolescents.

When compared to a general population, our adolescents have a high incidence of school failure, they are more likely to be disenfranchised from their parents, have a greater chance of contact with law enforcement and courts, in addition to a higher risk of substance abuse. Left untreated, these youths do not contribute to the community; they can burden social services and court systems; they diminish the quality of life for their families and themselves.

Among other risk factors, these youth have a greater likelihood of drug and alcohol use, which, if left untreated can exacerbate other treatment attempts.

A recent assessment by Children's Mercy Hospital (The State of Children's Health: 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment for the Kansas City Region, Children's Mercy Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, 2019) showed a significant rise in mental health problems in adolescents aged 12- 16 in the Kansas City area.

Among these findings, the percentage of kids who have been diagnosed with depression has doubled to 11% in the past three years.

The percentage of kids who have been prescribed medication for mental health also doubled during those years to 15.9%.

The percentage of kids who stopped participating in their regular activities for two or more weeks because they felt sad or hopeless over the past year more than tripled to 10.7%.

All three rates are above the national average.

As student achievement is the focus of all our activities, this project is necessary to provide our students with the tools they need to successfully graduate high school. Youth with mental health diagnoses who are suffering from substance abuse benefit from treatment services, therefore, the school environment is the most effective place to deliver these services and the place where these issues most often manifest. This requires a higher level of services than most schools can provide.

Support from Jackson County COMBAT goes a long way to ensure that our students receive the treatment they need to become successful young adults that thrive in our community, not just another statistic. Plaza Academy works with numerous school districts throughout the metro area to provide their students with mental health and special education services at our location as needed.