De-Funding of Full-Time Mental Health Social Workers and Therapists from DCPS and Charter Schools
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Anonymous
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Basically, special interest groups and the director were involved with this decision... I see no evidence of public or council engagement prior to this decision. See below:
Response from SY 16 Oversight Committee Questions: Pages 173-174 During FY16, the DBH director convened an interagency group known as the Behavioral Health Working Group (BWG) to re-envision a comprehensive plan with a strategy for expanding early childhood and school based behavioral health programs and services to all schools by School Year 17/18. The BWG was comprised of several District agencies including DBH, DOH, DCPS,DCPCS, Friends of Choice in Urban Schools (FOCUS), child advocates and other community partners. The BWG endorsed a new District of Columbia Comprehensive School Mental Health Program (CSMHP) as a model to expand mental health services to every public and public charter school. The guiding principle is to develop a unified service delivery framework that builds on and connects existing service models to maximize the resources available to all students and ensures that there is no disparity in resource allocation between similarly situated schools and child development centers. The proposed District comprehensive plan is designed to provide a shared and unified vision for allocating new and existing school-based behavioral health services for all public and public charter students and an expansion of early childhood mental health consultation in the child development centers. The recommended service delivery framework utilizes a scope and leveraging of the services that agencies are strong in delivering. This focus is designed to use the resources of the District more effectively and efficiently in the service of providing children and youth in child development centers and public and public charter schools with the broadest access to behavioral health services. A final draft document of the comprehensive plan is under review. Once approved, a Stakeholder Engagement Plan will be established and implemented during the SYR 16-17 for education and engagement regarding the re-visioning of the DBH clinician’s role within the framework of the re-structured school-based behavioral health model. This stakeholder communication, education, and engagement will occur prior to the projected SY 17-18 rollout of the re-visioned scope of services and role of a DBH clinician in the schools. |
Anonymous
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Here's the link:
http://dccouncil.us/files/user_uploads/budget_responses/dobh.pdf |
Anonymous
Another botched Bowser appointment! Cronyism at its best! |
Anonymous
| Thank you for sharing! |
Anonymous
| this is terrible!!!! |
Anonymous
| HS teacher here - this is shocking. Who does this benefit? Our students really need these services. |
Anonymous
I think they arendoing this to provide some 'coverage' at every public and charters school without adding more staff or budget. Right now some schools get full-time mental health providers and others get none. I think it is a stupid idea. We have a surplus. Mental health providers for all. And school nurses while we're at it. |
Anonymous
Yeah, this sounds just like the nurses idea. Which backfired spectacularly. |
Anonymous
| Nurses plan was only delayed for a year. Still unresolved. |
Anonymous
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I read elsewhere that they were required to provide services in 100 percent of schools by 16-17 and haven't done it--so they're redistributing all the staff to cover 100 percent of the schools, part-time.
Disgusting. |
Anonymous
There is a Council hearing on the school nurses issue Thursday morning. |
Anonymous
| This is rotten. Our school lost their full time nurse and their counselor last year. Also, just because a student isn't Title 1, doesn't mean they don't need the help! |
Anonymous
| Fiasco, complete fiasco |
Anonymous
| Any updates? |
Anonymous
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No updates so far. The petition has now about 1 thousand signatures but dc news and press still haven't done a story on therapy leaving the schools. Please share! This is a real thing that is going under the radar. The reality is that many teenagers in DC use the DBH therapy service and since many teenagers are going missing, without this service who knows?
Therapists are terrible at advocating for themselves. I assume if this was a different profession there would be more public outrage. Please help them out in getting the message into the press! We all know the first thing people say when a tragedy happens..."we need more mental health services" |