Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI) recently received a $9,000 grant to expand its school-based youth services
Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI) recently received a grant of $9,000 from the Riverboat Developmental Authority to expand its school-based youth services to include students who do not have Title XIX coverage.
LSI's school-based youth services teach students with behavioral, emotional or social issues the skills for functioning successfully in school, in the community and with family and peers. Students attend skill-building groups at their schools instead of in an outside clinical setting, which limits transportation costs as well as missed work for both students and parents. Currently, LSI school-based youth services are only available to students who qualify for Title XIX, a program that provides reduced-cost or free health care to low income families. However, 30 to 40 percent of students referred to school-based youth services are not covered by Title XIX , but still lack means to pay for LSI's mental health services. With the grant from Riverboat Developmental Authority, 48 children without Title XIX coverage will be able to partake in the skill-building groups. "Instead of talking about Title XIX eligibility when we are setting up these services, the discussion is now focused directly on the students and who can benefit the most from what we are offering," said Josh Krauss, LSI service coordinator. "We want it to always be about the kids and how we can best reach them." For more information about LSI's Youth Services, call (563) 322-7419. LSI impacts the lives of tens of thousands of Iowans annually through residential treatment, services to families, home health care, early childhood programs, adoption/foster care services, refugee resettlement, services for people with disabilities, disaster response initiatives and Barnabas Uplift. LSI serves people of all ages, genders, nationalities, religions, ethnicities and sexual orientations and is affiliated with Lutheran Services in America and three Iowa synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. To learn more, visit www.lsiowa.org.
