Cherry Creek School District to open mental health day treatment center next year

The Cherry Creek School District is in the middle of what could be a pioneering project to address what experts call a pediatric mental health "state of emergency." Next year, the district will open a mental health day treatment center staffed by professionals from several big names in Colorado health care. It will be located on CCSD's Joliet Campus in Aurora.

"It is setting the stage for a national look at whether this is a reasonable approach to really dealing with our mental health crisis," said Dr. Bruno Anthony, Vice Chair of the CU School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry.

While construction won't be complete for another ten months, the day treatment center will be a one stop shop for students experiencing any level of mental health crisis.

On the outside, it won't look the typical clinical setting. There will be walking paths, rock walls, a coffee shop, and more amenities to help destigmatize the experience for students.

Cherry Creek leaders believes believe CCSD is the first district in the country to create this kind of day treatment facility. One major focus will be integrating education and treatment.

"We hope this can be a model, not only for other school districts in Colorado but across the nation," said Dr. Tony Poole, Assistant Superintendent of Special Populations with Cherry Creek Schools. "Facilities like this can help kids get help immediately when they need it and keep them in a school environment and give them a strong education while they're getting the treatment they need to be healthy and then transition them back to their home school."

Funding for the facility comes from a $150 million bond passed by voters in 2020.

It will be staffed by professionals with Children's Hospital and the CU School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry. There will also be three levels of care offered to students, including programs for kids in crisis, as well as for students ready to transition back into class.

"If we can identify, assess, and get kids into the right place when they're at risk, which can happen in this setting, then I think we can really save lives," Anthony said.

Construction of this treatment center comes at a critical time. In the last two years, Children's Hospital says it's seen a 90 percent increase in the number of kids coming in with acute mental health crisis.

Poole said the crisis related to student mental health is nothing new, but it has intensified since the beginning of the pandemic.

"We have astounding mental health support in our buildings. It's still not enough," Poole said. "At any point in time in the school year we have 15 to 20 students on waiting lists for day treatment facilities who cannot get in and get help. This is a crisis."

Construction of the treatment center should be complete by June 2023. The district plans to open the facility that August.