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]The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. I can tell you from personal experience that: 1) many within the school-based mental health program are dissatisfied with how the program has evolved over time; 2) wish that they could devote MORE time to clinical work; 3) wish the supervision/case-sharing was more better; 4) wish that their summer time was utilized better; 5) and know that their are clinicians within the program that are below standard. At the school level, 1) it is not true that they are reassigned a new after 90 days - that has never been true; 2) schools don't feel their input has been valued in the needs assessment; and 3) they resent that clinicians are pulled out for crisis events in other schools/communities and that they don't have more input as to the clinicians' schedules. It's also probably true that the schools want to use the clinicians inappropriately (babysitting/special ed) and aren't happy when they get called out.

The answer is not to kill the program - and maybe shifting to some services for all instead of uneven coverage across the board is killing the program in your view. However, pretending that the program is works well for everyone doesn't help fix it. Yu Ying has a clinician; MV has a clinician; Wilson has a clinician; Inspired Teaching has a clinician; E.L.Haynes has a clinician. All of these schools are fairly well-funded and have low rates of poverty (comparatively). It is not unreasonable to think that clinicians could be better utilized in other schools.

quote=Anonymous]I have a biased opinion because I am in the school mental health program, but want to address some of the misinformation addressed in the post above.  I will also say I have a Phd and was trained in psychotherapy AFTER getting my master’s in social worker and in all my dealings with DCPS social workers, most have not been trained in actual therapy just as social worker.

“ DCPS schools were resistant to the school mental health program”

As many of you know, DCPS is resistant to change in any manner yet alone another entity in the building.  However, they were not resistant to help.  As you can see by the petition and the many who have spoken out, they are DCPS staff.

“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”

Generalization.  Give specifics on grants.  I would love to know the great programs and grants that are providing therapy services in schools.

“Some of the clinicians in this program are pretty awful”
No proof.  I do believe that you will have some workers who do not fit up to standards, but that would be true with any employment.

“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.”

Incorrect.  Schools are asked to give a 90 days notice and they will be given a new clinician.

“the schools do not have any say in the programming or schedule for what the clinician is doing.”

Wrong again.  A needs assessment is done and the principal and staff are asked about the needs and what programming would work for the school.

“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.”

Also untrue.  In the early stages of the program, they didn’t bill at all and the need came about from the South Capitol Street Bill.

I could go on and on, but the tell from the previous post was that a “psychologist is a problem clinician.”  Gee I wonder if you are talking about yourself?  Maybe bitter DCPS social workers and psychologists shouldn’t complain about expensive epic failures because I am pretty sure you are the highest paying clinical workers in the DMV area.  I have worked in 4 DCPS schools where the majority of social workers and psychologists were making 6 figures!  I wonder if we took all the social workers out of schools and then paid private contractors to do the work at half the price….I may be on to something here.

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