Gov. Greg Abbott's plan to make Texas school campuses safer includes enhanced mental health screening and treatment is a key component.
To that end, he has publicly praised Texas Tech Health Sciences Center’s Telemedicine Wellness Intervention Triage and Referral, or TWITR, Project, which provides access to psychiatric treatment to students who are at risk of injuring or harming themselves or others.
The governor tweeted about the program last week, saying:
"This mental health program is a key part of school safety in Texas, It provides students with mental health treatment they need. It also serves as a threat assessment tool that can prevent school violence. It’s used only with parental approval."The program began in 2014. In four years, 400 students have been referred to it. Abbott’s school safety plan hopes to expand TWITR to an additional 10 school districts in the next school year, with a long-term goal for the legislature is to earmark $20 million to expand the program to all campuses across the state that need it.
According to the program's website, the Telemedicine Wellness Intervention Triage and Referral (TWITR) Project leverages telemedicine services to intervene with junior high through high school students who are at risk for injury or harm to others or themselves in school settings.
Students are identified and screened for risk-based behaviors in schools then provided psychiatric services by TTUHSC Psychiatry over a telemedicine link. Two telemedicine psychiatry sessions are provided through the project with students needing additional psychiatric services then incorporated into the TTUHSC Psychiatry Clinic. Response to intervention is measured in terms of changes in grades, truancy referrals, and discipline referrals in the schools.
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