Expanding a partnership focused on student attendance, mental health, and family support.
CIS of Nevada has appointed Jayme Puu, CEO of CareSource Nevada, to its Board of Directors. The move formalizes a partnership that continues to deliver real results for Nevada students, from improved school attendance to expanded mental health resources.
The Three-Year Partnership
CareSource, a nonprofit managed care organization serving Nevada’s Medicaid and Marketplace members, has been working alongside CIS of Nevada since 2023. In that time, the organization has contributed more than $200,000 to strengthen CIS’s wraparound support services for students and families across the state.
One of the partnership’s standout efforts began in September 2025, during National Attendance Awareness Month, with CareSource’s Pledge to Be Present campaign. The initiative tackled chronic absenteeism head-on, helping CIS Site Coordinators deepen their relationships with students, families, educators, and entire school communities through attendance-focused events and pledge activities.
The results speak for themselves: 80 percent of participating schools improved their attendance in the third quarter of the 2025–2026 school year compared with the previous year.
Expanding Mental Health Support in Elko County
This year, CareSource directed $50,000 toward mental health programming in Elko County. The funding is helping CIS of Nevada:
- Break down barriers to behavioral health care access
- Improve students’ emotional well-being
- Train CIS Site Coordinators in trauma-informed care, mental health awareness, and peer support
- Increase family awareness and education through community services
More Than Dollars
CareSource’s commitment goes beyond funding. Since 2023, the organization has logged more than 160 volunteer hours, showing up in ways that touch students directly:
- Collecting school supplies for CIS’s Fill The Bus events statewide
- Providing haircuts for students in Elko County
- Volunteering at the first Color Run and Field Day at McDermitt Combined School in Humboldt County
- Distributing hundreds of period kits to girls in schools statewide, in partnership with Project Marilyn
CareSource Leadership
Serving as CEO of CareSource, Jayme Puu brings more than 25 years of healthcare leadership experience to her new board role with our organization. Before joining CareSource, she held senior executive positions at Hawaii Medical Service Association, including senior vice president of internal operations and vice president of provider services. Her background in healthcare leadership and community-focused initiatives aligns closely with CIS of Nevada’s mission to address the non-academic barriers that can stand between students and success.
Puu described CIS’s impact on Nevada students, families, and communities over the past three years as something she’s witnessed firsthand, and shares that she’s honored to join the board to help advance the shared mission of removing barriers and expanding opportunity for every Nevada student.
Reaching Nearly 100,000 Students
CIS of Nevada works directly in schools to connect nearly 100,000 students statewide with the resources, relationships, and support systems that help them stay in school and succeed beyond it. For the last two consecutive school years, CIS of Nevada has achieved a 97 percent graduation rate among the seniors it serves.
We welcome Jayme Puu to the board and look forward to further deepening our collective impact together.
