Arlington Special Education PTA (SEPTA)
Thursday, November 8, 2018
7-9:00 PM
Syphax Education Center – Rooms 452/454
A. Welcome Message from the President, Introduction of Special Guests/SEPTA Board Members, and Additional Updates
SEPTA President Janna Dressel kicked off the meeting with introductions from attendees and panel members.
SEPTA Updates
- Janna Dressel and Kristin Haldeman of the APS Transportation Office met recently to discuss the transportation suggestions that were generated at the October SEPTA meeting and will be following up with next steps.
- Many thanks to the mini-grant committee which considered applications requesting a total of $12,700. $7000 worth of grants were awarded.
- The Phantom Ball raised $3130.
- SEPTA and PRC held two parent liaison trainings last week. Parent liaisons are still needed for ATS and Little Beginnings.
- The online auction will be November 24th-December 3rd. Donations are still needed. Please let Minerva Trudo or Janna Dressel know if you are able to help.
- The deadline for evaluation and planning surveys for APS is extended until November 16th; staff surveys are due November 19th.
- There are currently 160 paid SEPTA members, but this is still short of the membership target. Please consider joining – the membership fee is $10.
B. Panel Introductions: Mental Wellness/Mental Health Supports and Services
1. APS Counseling Services Perspective – Supervisor of Counseling Services, Pam McClellan and Director of Counseling (Thomas Jefferson MS), Susan Holland.
Pam McClellan stated that there were 137 school counselors in APS. In elementary school, there is 1 counselor for every 500 students, and in middle school there is 1 counselor for every 300-350 students. The ideal counselor to student ratio should be 1 to 250.
2. APS Psychological Services Perspective – Gregory Myers, Licensed School Psychologist at Wakefield High School
Greg Myers provided an overview of mental health related psychological services at APS, which include:
- IEP based counseling (counseling as a related service), which consists of regularly scheduled counseling sessions associated with counseling goal on a student’s IEP;
- referral and screening (e.g., identification of mental illness, depression, anxiety) – students/families usually come to the psychologist to get connected to community agencies, therapy, professionals;
- suicide risk assessments (mental health evaluations);
- crisis response (e.g., panic attacks, de-escalation);
- special education evaluations (gather information – e.g., indicators of ADHD, anxiety, depression — and help connect parents to services)
- mental health education – push into classes (e.g., in high school – go to health classes – lessons on topics such as suicide risk and depression)
- mental health initiatives/campaigns (get information out – e.g., crisis link or crisis text; youth mental health first aid training provided to staff members, parent groups, including SEPTA members)
At the high school level, mental health concerns are more prevalent. Student clubs (e.g., Our Minds Matter at Wakefield) and other initiatives are available.
3. APS Social Workers Perspective – Mary Dolby McDonald, LCSW Virginia Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Williamsburg Middle
Mary Dolby McDonald provided the following staffing overview of social workers, by school level:
- Elementary school – 3-4 days of social work support per school
- Middle school – 1 social worker per school
- High school – 2 social workers per school
The goal of the school social worker is to eliminate barriers to learning through various means, such as providing help with housing, food, and clothing. Social workers sometimes overlap with counselors and psychologists – they all work together in risk and threat assessments and social histories. Social workers also identify attendance concerns and connect families to resources in the community – e.g., therapy referral.
A parent asked a question as to who to contact among the school psychologist, social worker, or counselor. Pretty much any one of these options is fine. Pam McClellan stated that usually a counselor can address most questions but can always get assistance from the psychologist or social worker as needed.
4. Arlington’s Department of Human Services Perspective – Linh Nghe, Supervisor of Children’s Behavioral Health Bureau/Behavioral Health Wellness Services and Laura Ragins, Arlington County Director of Child Advocacy Center
Laura Ragins provided an overview of mental health services provided by Arlington’s Department of Human Services (DHS).
- Services are organized by children, adult, and emergency services (the latter covers both kids and adults).
- About 15 clinicians provide support for children’s behavioral health services.
- DHS offers a continuum of care, as needs can be episodic at one age and increase at a later age. Services include case management and coordination services, substance use, psychiatric services, family therapy, behavior intervention services, outpatient services.
- Starting in June, same day access was mandated for mental health programs. It’s possible to call first for a consultation – 703-228-1560 – to confirm whether an evaluation is necessary. Hours are: Mondays (10-2); Tuesdays (8-2); Wednesdays (10-6); and Fridays (10-2).
- DHS is focusing on ways to address risks for suicidal ideation by kids without the added trauma of police or hospital involvement. DHS manages the CR2 (children’s regional response) services contract (mobile stabilization) which can provide up to 45 days of in-home services.
Linhe Nghe discussed prevention services offered by DHS which seek to reduce substance use, prevent suicide, and promote behavior wellness. Among the topics/programs covered are:
- Training community members under the youth, adult, and first responder model.
- Online avatar program (Kognito) to help identify signs of suicide and provide links to services
- Lock and talk – helping to prevent suicide through lethal means restrictions (firearms, drugs)
- E-cigarettes
- Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) –wraparound services for victims of early trauma
- Talk – They Hear You – SAMHSA substance use program
5. NAMI Support Group and Parent Perspective – Michelle Best
Michelle Best is a co-facilitator (along with Alisa Cowen) for a parent support group for school aged kids with mental health disabilities. The NAMI Support Group provides the opportunity for parents to share resources, discuss what is going on at home, and identify needs and ways of addressing them.
Michelle advised that, as a starting point, parents should call their insurance company’s mental health services division and request a list of providers. She provided a handout with a list of resources available at: https://drive.google.com/open?id=161clLa30pB9iMnFEOejG1nwHmDMOXkjr
6. Moms Demand Action – Elizabeth Ryan – Be SMART for Kids Initiative
Elizabeth Ryan gave a presentation on the Be SMART for Kids Initiative – a conversation about kids, guns, and safety. Kids are often the victims of accidental shootings (there are 300 child-related shootings per year in US). However, everyone can take the following actions to keep kids safe (as addressed in the SMART acronym):
S – Secure all guns in your home and vehicles
M – Model responsible behavior around guns
A – Ask about the presence of unsecured guns in other homes
R – Recognize the risks of teen suicide
T – Tell your peers to be SMART
C. Mental Health Panel Discussion and Audience Q & A
Parents offered a number of questions to panel members on the following topics:
- Building lessons on gun safety into the school curriculum
- Talking to elected officials about gun safety
- Better counselor to student ratio at secondary level because of counselor’s role in academic and career planning
- Importance of providing services to students at school – best opportunity to get services since they are not likely to seek services outside of school
- When counseling services are scheduled during the school day
- The lack of protective factors making a child more susceptible to mental health disabilities and the need for each child to have a trusted adult in the school building.
- Determining whether a student is suicidal.
- Higher rates of anxiety and stress experienced by middle and high schoolers and strengthening protective factors and coping
- Ways for parents of children with disabilities to address their mental health needs and to find networks of support
- Requesting counseling services as part of the student’s IEP
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