Wildcat Care Team
Launch the media gallery 1 player Hello Mulvane! I am Tara Lyden, Behavioral Health Liaison and creator of our Wildcat Care Team. I am grateful for the opportunity to work for my alma mater. I graduated from Mulvane in 2006 and have returned to the district to help connect our students to mental health services. After high school, I attended Butler Community College on a softball scholarship and later obtained my Associate's Degree from Cowley County. After many years of being undecided on what I wanted to be when I grew up, I finished my Bachelor of Criminal Justice at Fort Hays State University. My husband and I have been married for 15 years and have two children in the district. Jace and Jentry keep us both very busy with sports, specifically wrestling. Five years ago, I unintentionally found myself working in the mental health field when the opportunity to work in a crisis center was offered. It was there that my passion for helping individuals with mental illness bloomed.
The behavioral health liaison role is new and exciting for our school district. The current and ever-developing environment, pressures, and great unknowns of our world can increase the daily stressors our students experience. It is important that we work together to consider how each student is feeling and how we might be able to help them navigate their challenges and struggles. With this in mind, my role with our Wildcat Care Team is to support those in need. We have recently begun identifying students in both the Middle and High schools. We hope to be able to serve all the schools in our district very soon.
The Wildcat Care Team is made available through the Mental Health Intervention Team grant provided by the Kansas State Department of Education. This program allows Mulvane USD 263 to provide eligible students with therapy and case management services during the school day through a partnership with COMCARE of Sedgwick County. One of the primary goals of the Wildcat Care Team is to support students’ social-emotional well-being and work toward improved attendance and academic achievement while reducing behavior and discipline issues. Most importantly, this program will allow our schools to better serve our students struggling with depression, mental illness, addiction, suicidal ideation, and/or self-harm, daily stressors, and anxiety. A student’s eligibility for these services is determined through a referral process. Any provided services will be billed by COMCARE of Sedgwick County. The agency can bill most private insurance and Medicaid or will consider fees on a sliding scale.
As we build this program, I look forward to connecting with families and helping improve the mental health of our students. Please reach out if you have any questions or feel your child could benefit from our Wildcat Care Team.
