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During the Clay Counts Coalition’s monthly meeting on August 13th, Matt Weller, Clay Counts Community Coordinator, presented data related to the Kansas Communities That Care (KCTC) survey in Clay County.
KCTC is a statewide initiative focusing on preventing adolescent substance abuse and other problems among children. Weller spoke more about the survey.
“This is offered to all Kansas schools, and it has a student survey that’s given to 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th graders every single year.”
“This last year, 82% of our eligible kids took it. It is data that we use for the school district; it’s also data that we use for Clay Counts for the grants that we get.”
“It’s great data to have. The data compares Clay County students to Kansas students.”
Data shows that Substance Use among Clay County students, concerning alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, were at or below the state average, with numbers trending down.
On the other hand, data shows that Mental Health is a large problem among students throughout the entire state. 28.4% of students surveyed said they had thought about killing themselves, with 18.4% making a plan, and 8.9% of students in Clay County attempting suicide.
Data also shows that Bullying is a big issue in Clay County.
“One that we’ve been hitting hard in terms of our district has been Bullying at school. At least once in the past 12 months, 38% of our kids said they’d been bullied.”
“The other thing that’s concerning is not only that it’s 38% of students, but we’re above the state average, and we have been for the last six years.”
“So, that is something we’re trying to attack after seeing the data.”
With the support of Clay Counts, USD 379 is working with staff and students on these rising trends. Offering mental health classes to students, Pawnee Mental Health offers School-based services, mentoring programs, and more. All to help support USD 379 students anyway they can.
