The state Department of Education has partnered with the Cook Center for Human Connection to provide parents and staff with free resources and one-on-one online coaching to support student mental health.

The resource, ParentGuid ance.org, will be available 24/7 to all DOE staff members and the families of over 180,000 students. The DOE joins 360 other school districts that have partnered with the Cook Center, extending access to mental health services to more than 3.3 million families across 46 states.

The program is designed to coach parents and guardians in better supporting their children due to the shortage of school psychologists statewide. Additionally, DOE staff can access support for themselves because if they’re not at their best, it can affect their performance at school and, in turn, the students.

“All 186,000 K-12 students statewide and their families will be eligible for the serv­ices; 8,000 would be considered to have major depressive issues, and 6,000 of them will not receive treatment,” said Anne Brown, president of the Cook Center. “There’s not enough mental health support services in Hawaii and also nationally.”

The National Association of School Psychologists has recommended that there should be 1 school psychologist for every 500 students. Among these students, 30% might contemplate suicide, 66% might report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, 16% will make a suicide plan and 9% will attempt suicide.

In Hawaii there is only one school psychologist for every 1,400 students.

“When those parents who love their child the most and care about them the most have been empowered with this knowledge and information to recognize, support and help their child, then we start getting kids 1-to-1 support instead of 1-to-1,400 support,” Brown said.

She emphasized that the resource is fully confidential. Although the organization has to report to the DOE on the number of families receiving support per school district, it will not disclose the names of the families who register.

Parents of children experiencing mental health issues will have 24/7 access to courses on challenging aspects of parenting, typical parenting strategies and self-help for themselves. These courses are available privately on demand in the comfort of their homes, whenever needed. Each course is video­-based and offered in both English and Spanish.

The program offers one-on-one parent coaching with personalized sessions for parents, families and school staff. While the coaches are not licensed therapists, they are trained by professionals and can connect families with appropriate therapists if needed.

Currently, there are 30 coaches registered in the program to serve families nationwide.

The program also features virtual seminars that include access to over 30 mental health series led by licensed therapists. Additionally, there is an “Ask a Therapist” forum, an interactive Q&A platform for ongoing mental health support.

After signing up through the ParentGuidance.org website, any family can be paired with a coach who will begin working with them within 24 to 48 hours. Sessions can be arranged as a one-time consultation or extended over a month, the entire summer or even the full school year.

“Whatever a family needs, there is someone available to help them with any issue they’re dealing with from a parenting perspective,” Brown said.

The DOE contracted the Cook Center’s parent coaching resource for one year at a cost of $710,000.

Since the organization’s launch in Hawaii during the second week of August, Brown reported, eight families have signed up.

“We’re thrilled that it’s off the ground; we’re thrilled that families already know about it,” Brown said. “Our biggest obstacle in all of this is ensuring that families know that the resources are available and the schools know that it’s available to help support them. So, our goal over the next two months is to build as much awareness so that every family knows that this resource is available to them.”