In the summer of 2022, CCS rolled out a new benefit to its staff – a partnership with Modern Health that allows staff members and their dependents to easily access a range of free mental health services.
Even in the best of times, teaching is a challenging profession. It is no easy task for staff members to meet every child where they are and push them to grow academically. And while the COVID-19 pandemic created stress and hardship for many around the world, it greatly escalated the demands on educators, who suddenly needed to learn how to teach virtually during periods of remote learning as well as safeguard students’ health when in-person learning resumed, all the while dealing with the challenges presented by the pandemic in their own lives.
Although CCS has prioritized providing its staff with exceptional benefits from its inception in 2010, Director of Human Capital Amanda Hollman recognized early on in the pandemic that the current level of mental health support for staff was not where she wanted it to be.
“Before our partnership with Modern Health, all we could really do was direct people to a list of mental health providers who took our insurance. But many of these providers have long waiting lists or aren’t accepting new clients,” said Hollman.
Hollman noticed that while access to mental health providers was covered through CCS’s benefits, it was daunting to some staff members to sift through the list of eligible providers in order to access care. Some staff members even reached out directly to Hollman to ask for recommendations for counselors or therapists.
“If somebody is at the point where they are asking their employer about how they can receive therapy, it means that they really need it. I wanted something that felt more accessible,” added Hollman. That’s when she learned about Modern Health.
“What I really love about Modern Health is the range of services it provides. Not everyone needs or is ready to sign up for one-on-one sessions, but there are other services like community discussion groups or self-paced programs available to staff members. A lot of people really want something that can be accessed easily through an app, and Modern Health makes that possible,” shared Hollman.
The response to this new benefit has been positive.
“Modern Health is AWESOME. I had my first coaching session today. It was so good. Outside of our healthcare plan, it is the BEST benefit CCS gives staff,” shared an Akili staff member.
Hollman has been pleased with the response from staff members across the network as a whole.
“Within the first week, over 30% of our staff members registered for Modern Health. Over the last couple of months, that number has increased to nearly 50%, which was my goal for staff participation this year,” said Hollman. CCS hopes that staff members utilize this benefit as needed and would like to continue to offer these services to staff in the years to come.
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Interested in learning more about what it’s like to work at CCS? Click here to read about CCS’s compensation philosophy or here to read about past professional development opportunities.
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