[Wctcca] State Board Meeting : Possible Agenda Item - Mental Health on Community & Technical College Campus's

[Coates-white, Stephen]

Sara and cc/tc counseling colleagues -

Thanks for sharing information related to these legislative issues that may impact our working conditions as counselors. While increased support for counseling in whatever format may be welcome, it is essential that counselors and the unions that represent us be part of the discussion. As academic employees (RCW 28B.52.020<https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=28B.52&full=true#:~:text=(2)%20%22Academic%20employee%22,administrator%20in%2C%20each%20college%20district.>), it is possible that increasing telehealth services within the State Board is visioned as a counselor "support", thus farming it to non-academic employee (read: non-faculty counselor) personnel. There have been recent areas where this has been attempted, one that I was shocked faculty unions did not catch: at its inception, Cascadia did not hire faculty counselors but contracted with a 3rd party counseling non-faculty group for services, paying them $25-30/hour, clearly in violation of state law and this academic employee clause. Cascadia currently promotes counseling services through its affiliation with UW-Bothell, again farming academic employee work to non-faculty personnel. I may be mis-informed but counselors at universities typically do not have faculty status as we do in our system.

A slightly different experience was within the Seattle Colleges where an administrator explored supplemental counseling options with a 3rd party vendor. I believe this would have been to provide 24 hr services, likely using a telehealth platform. Fortunately, this was viewed as a "rogue" administrator and did not have the backing from other college leadership. I have also received recent marketing from the likes of Christie Campus Health<https://www.christiecampus.com/> seeking ways in which to collaborate, and, if I am receiving these invitations, no doubt others like deans and VPs are as well. It is my belief that we should be avoiding these type of relationships, which is why I am glad to read that Karen Strickland is engaged. For now, letting Karen know that the WCTCCA can be a sounding board and resource for the AFT would be a good move. I know some campuses are not AFT affiliated or may have co-affiliation with WEA, so communicating with this union would be a good strategy as well.

**Please note that because e-mail is not a secure form of communication, confidentiality cannot be ensured. Please be cautious in what you write or send.**
Stephen Coates-White, Counselor
South Seattle College
6000 16th Avenue SW
Seattle, WA 98106-1499
Appointments: 206-934-6409
Office: 206-934-5135
Fax: 206-934-7947
Email: stephen.coates-white at seattlecolleges.edu<mailto:stephen.coates-white at seattlecolleges.edu>

From: WCTCCA <wctcca-bounces at lists.ctc.edu> On Behalf Of Hoaglin, Sarah via WCTCCA
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2023 10:48 AM
To: wctcca at lists.ctc.edu
Cc: Jennifer Houge <wctccapres at gmail.com>; Matthew Cullen <MCullen at greenriver.edu>; Kristi Leksen <kleksen at everettcc.edu>
Subject: [Wctcca] State Board Meeting : Possible Agenda Item - Mental Health on Community & Technical College Campus's

Dear Colleagues,

We were informed yesterday that the forthcoming State Board meeting may include an agenda item or a statement addressing the introduction of telehealth services to support mental health counselors on our campus. This initiative is proposed either as an extension of the existing SB 5513 (Mental Health Counseling and Services Pilot Program) or as part of a revised iteration of the previously attempted SB 5194. We have reviewed the agenda items and have not found a specific listing, leading us to believe that this topic may be addressed during public comments.

The Washington Achievement Counsel (WSAC) is seeking $2 million in funding from the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) to launch and pilot telehealth services on Washington Community and Technical College (CTC) campuses. We are aware that Karen Strickland, President of the Washington Chapter of the American Federation of Teachers Union (WA-AFT), has expressed opposition to the implementation of these services. We tried to engage in a conversation with Ms. Strickland yesterday to discuss her perspective and insights but were unable to secure a meeting at that time.

You can watch the State Board meeting via the following link: State Board Meeting | SBCTC<https://www.sbctc.edu/about/board/meetings>

For those interested in providing a public comment during the meeting, there is an opportunity on October 19th between 9:10 AM and 9:20 AM, accessible through the following link: State Board Meeting | SBCTC<https://www.sbctc.edu/about/board/meetings>

To the best of our knowledge, the Washington Community and Technical College Counselors Association (WCTCCA) Executive Team and Steering Committee have not been formally approached or requested to provide input on this matter. If you believe it is essential for us to issue a statement, we encourage you to respond to this email with your perspectives and insights. Your input is highly valued, and we are keen to hear your thoughts. Please do not hesitate to reach out with your feedback.

If this information is entirely new to you, we encourage you to peruse the provided links for further details, or alternatively, do not hesitate to reach out to one of the Executive Team Members via email. We would be more than willing to engage in a discussion with you on this matter.

LINK: Mental Health Counseling and Services Pilot Program | SBCTC<https://www.sbctc.edu/colleges-staff/grants/mental-health-counseling-and-services-pilot-program>
Dual credit, financial support, Career Connect bills heard as session ends third week | SBCTC<https://www.sbctc.edu/blogs/legislative-news/2023/2022-01-27>

EXECUTIVE TEAM MEMBERS:

  *   Jen Houge: President:  wctccapres at gmail.com<mailto:wctccapres at gmail.com>
  *   Sarah Hoaglin: Vice President: shoaglin at rtc.edu<mailto:shoaglin at rtc.edu>
  *   Kristi Leksen: Secretary: kleksen at everettcc.edu<mailto:kleksen at everettcc.edu>
  *   Matthew Cullen: Technology Officer: mcullen at greenriver.edu<mailto:mcullen at greenriver.edu>
  *   OPEN POSITION: Treasurer: Get involved at www.wctcca.org<http://www.wctcca.org/>

Please forward this to any new therapists that you feel might not be on the list-serv or provide them with this link: LIST-SERV<http://lists.ctc.edu/mailman/listinfo/wctcca_lists.ctc.edu>

Your understanding and input are crucial to this matter, and we welcome your engagement and questions. Thank you for your continued support.

Thanks,
Sarah

'To be radical is not to disrupt but rather to reimagine'

Sarah Hoaglin, LMFT (she/her)
Behavioral Health/Academic Counselor
Student Services
425-235-6635
shoaglin at rtc.edu<mailto:shoaglin at rtc.edu> | rtc.edu/behavioral-health<https://www.rtc.edu/>
3000 NE 4thSt., Renton WA 98056
Students Succeed at RTC.

           REFER A STUDENT FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES HERE<https://rtc.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3jWrPnCnPUgPU1v>
           If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the 24-Hour Crisis Clinic hotline: 866-427-4747.
           TTY: 206-461-3610

     To schedule CURRENT STUDENT ADVISING: Student Success Center (office365.com)<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/RTCStudentSuccessCenter@rtc.ctc.edu/bookings/>

Electronic Privacy Notice. This e-mail, and any attachments, contains information that is, or may be, covered by electronic communications privacy laws, and is also confidential and proprietary in nature. If you are not the intended recipient, please be advised that you are legally prohibited from retaining, using, copying, distributing, or otherwise disclosing this information in any manner. Instead, please reply to the sender that you have received this communication in error, and then immediately delete it.

CAUTION: This email originated outside of the Seattle Colleges' email system. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Questions? Contact IT Services at x6333 (Central), x3630 (North), x5844 (South) or email ITHelp at seattlecolleges.edu<mailto:ITHelp at seattlecolleges.edu>.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.ctc.edu/pipermail/wctcca_lists.ctc.edu/attachments/20231023/b297dd93/attachment-0001.htm>