Students in the Keokuk Community School District will soon have greater access to in-person mental and behavioral health care right at school.
The district has received a three-year School-Centered Behavioral Health Grant from the Wellmark Foundation. The grant will fund a licensed mental or behavioral health professional contracted with the district to provide individualized, in-person therapy and treatment to students.
The Wellmark Foundation says access to mental health care can be especially difficult in rural Iowa, where families may have to take time away from work and school and travel long distances for appointments. According to the foundation, all but four of Iowa’s rural counties are designated as mental health professional shortage areas.
Laura Jackson with Wellmark says providing services through schools can help close those gaps and address behavioral health challenges earlier.
The new in-person services will supplement Keokuk’s existing virtual mental health partnership with Hazel Health, which launched in 2025.
More information about the School-Centered Behavioral Health Grant is available through Wellmark.