P.E.I. student referrals to well-being teams more than doubled during pandemic

Students being referred to well-being teams at school more than doubled during the pandemic, a legislative committee heard Tuesday.

Well-being teams consist of social workers, nurses, outreach workers and other staff that help students who are struggling with mental, social and physical health issues.

Just prior to the school year disrupted by the pandemic, there were close to 600 referrals to well-being teams. That figure has grown ever since:

• 2017-18: 183 referrals.
• 2018-19: 573 referrals.
• 2019-20: 914 referrals.
• 2020-21: 1,353 referrals.
• 2021-22: 971 referrals (Final number not yet finalized).

"We have seen a little bit of a decline this year from what we saw last year … I think last year was certainly a peak year," said Elizabeth Kennedy, acting program lead for the well-being program.

"The mental health needs are there. Kids do have a lot of stress and they have a lot on their plate that they're trying to manage."

At committee, education officials also said as the number of referrals swells each year so do wait lists, with some students waiting upwards of three months to see a well-being team.

'Give them the skill set they need'

Kennedy said the number one referral is for anxiety, with many youth having trouble with stress every day.

"Any time kids are going through transitions where school's starting and stopping, that certainly adds stress levels to students. So we see that as a difficult time for kiddos," she said.

"Then, certainly, what the parents are dealing with at home, all the stressers — financial stressers, housing stressers — that all transpires and comes through the kids as well. They're feeling that."

Committee members asked about the well-being team's staffing problems, in light of the growing wait lists for students.

Kennedy said that their focus is figuring out ways to be more effective and efficient with the staff they have next year.

"We're looking at increasing some of the upstream work we do, in getting into classrooms and doing some well-being presentations," she said.

"If we can give them those prevention pieces ahead of time, and give them the skill set they need that when they encounter stressful situations, they've got the tools to be able to deal with that."

Kids do have a lot of stress and they have a lot on their plate that they're trying to manage.— Elizabeth Kennedy

Kennedy said they're looking at offering more group services, to complement the one-to-one settings available.

"Sometimes the group is the service that we would be suggesting for a student, because that may be more appropriate than the one-to-one service," she said. 

Additionally, the program is offering drop-in clinics throughout the summer which are available for students 12 and older.

Parents can also access the drop-in clinics for supports and resources to help their children "going through a tough time," Kennedy said.