Reply to De-Funding of Full-Time Mental Health Social Workers and Therapists from DCPS and Charter Schools

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Reply to "De-Funding of Full-Time Mental Health Social Workers and Therapists from DCPS and Charter Schools"

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[quote=Anonymous]This issue is not black and white. As a practical matter, DCPS schools were resistant to the school mental health program - so the department of behavior health channeled most of these clinicians to charter schools, and even among the charter schools it was voluntary. A lot of the schools who chose to participate were actually better funded programs or programs that already qualified for grants for mental health service - outside the school mental health program. Some of the clinicians in this program are pretty awful - and the schools have no recourse to get rid of them - the clinicians only answer to behavioral health. When the schools complain to behavioral health, they are told that the psychologist is a problem clinician but that he is protected by the union, so behavioral can't do anything and won't send them a new clinician. Also, the schools do not have any say in the programming or schedule for what the clinician is doing. Behavioral health originally thought the clinicians would be able to bill to pay for the cost of the program - but this has been an epic failure. What has emerged is an expensive, unfunded program. Some schools have full-time services (with varying degrees of success), others have no services. Some do clinical work, others only do preventive stuff. However, all schools need preventive screenings and presentations- but the clinicians do not have time to do it. During the summers when school is not in session, the city basically pays the clinicians to sit around and do nothing. So, because the program does not pay for itself - what the department is trying to do is switch to baseline services model and to avoid scenarios where they are effectively paying for largely middle class and wealthy schools and students to get free mental health care, when their is greater need in other areas of the city. Schools are free to supplement with vender-provided wrap-around services. The city also funds clinical work through other non-school based services programs - and will continue to do so for poor children. Keep in mind that the clinicians are not allowed to work with special ed students at all. Only students who are outside the special ed framework.[/quote]

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