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Syndicated
Column Young Minds Matter By Oscar Wright Building Bridges: Families and Professionals Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Mental Illness in Children Touches Every Member of the Family ...... And Where They Work!
The case for family members can easily be made! There is a widely held belief that healthcare professionals are ill prepared to deal with the nuances of reality that family members face every day. On the other hand, healthcare professionals have a valid point of view when they are restricted to unnecessary bureaucratic regulations, tight budgets, insufficient resources and training, and a caseload that increases disproportional to their capacity to service. So, whose right and whose wrong? The answer is that both are right! A more compelling case can be made for a new and dynamic paradigm shift that accentuates the strengths of both systems. One of many examples is the development of surveys that are used to construct public policy and programs for families, children and youth. In many cases, professionals will tend to quantify the nature of the questions (how many youth with mental disorders drop out of high school? Or what is the percentage of children with mental challenges living in poverty? Family members may take an entirely different approach to the nature of the questions in the survey. For instance, family members might ask how a quality of life for the youth is defined, what resources are needed to accomplish that objective and what community support systems are available and provided in a coordinated and sustained manner. Studies have demonstrated that 80% of parental concerns are correct and accurate; that's a great batting average. One thing we know for sure is when families feel powerless and unable to connect with a system of care, they become casualties of the same system designed to help them; they must be recognized as full partners. The working premise is that a new partnership model and mindset must involve family members at every level of decision-making and recognizes, honors and respects their involvement as critical to the success of effective interventions. As we begin to engage family members in the process, fueled by the principles of family centered decisions, cultural competence and strength-base intervention. We have come to realize and understand that this new partnership model encompasses 5 stages of interaction: Problem Recognition, Formal Assessment, Service Plan, Implementation, Evaluation and Feedback. Based on the premise that family members must be full partners in decisions that affect them, each stage of development must reflect that principle right on down to how the process is evaluated and feedback measured.If the partnership is going to succeed, roles, objectives and goals must be established at the very onset of the process. Healthcare professions must also be capable of addressing a defined set of problems or have the capacity to make the appropriate referrals to other agencies. The old axiom that sitting at the table doesn't make you a diner is certainly appropriate here. Neither system, family member or professional, is properly served until each has a menu of options to strengthen their partnership, not the least of which is joint training, identifying community support systems and recognizing the support needs of other family members (grandparents and siblings, etc.). Oscar Wright is the Chief Executive Officer for the United Advocates for Children and Families, a statewide advocacy, policy and training organization for families, youth and children. Your comments are welcomed. He can be contacted at: owright@uacf4hope.org and at www.uacf4hope.org.
On the other hand, the care of young children experiencing mental challenges is particularly intense and physically demanding. Grandparents may experience frustration of shame or guilt about their own child's inability to care for the grandchild. Stress-related conditions such as depression and hypertension are not uncommon. Family relationships can be strained and custody disputes may worsen the situation. In addition, when grandparents assume responsibility for young children, often unexpectedly, they may face increased strain because of low or limited incomes. For example, with 70 percent of grandparents under the age of 60, many are too young to qualify for Medicare, social security, and other public benefits available to seniors.
So, how do we help these heroes of hope?. Grand families need time out from the physical, mental and emotional demands of daily care giving. Respite care provides temporary relief for caregivers from the ongoing responsibility of caring for an individual, children in this case, with special needs. It is important to note that respite care is not child care. Respite care is an opportunity to re-energize and refuel to meet the unrelenting challenges. With quality respite care, the grandparent has time to participate in support groups, obtain services so the family can function effectively, or secure health services that protect their ability to raise special needs children.
In December 2006, Congress passed and the President signed the Lifespan Respite Care Act. It will be up to Congress to provide funding. We simply must engage the participation of grand families in the design and implementation of respite care programs on the state level. Not only should grand families become a targeted group for respite care, but they should also be intricately involved in the development and implementation of this new program. To help strengthen this family unit, we must identify and make readily available a pathway to community support systems for grand-families and other caregivers.
Oscar Wright is the Chief Executive Officer for the United Advocates for Children and Families, a statewide advocacy, policy and training organization for families, youth and children. Your comments are welcomed. He can be contacted at: owright@uacf4hope.org and at www.uacf4hope.org. The crisis is devastating and undeniable; an invisible population of youth lingering between the juvenile justice and mental health systems with unprecedented unmet needs. Current studies are increasingly validating the fact that from 65% to 70% of youth in the juvenile justice system meet criteria for a diagnosable mental health disorder. According to recent studies, the majority of these youth have multiple diagnoses. The United Advocates for Children and Families wholeheartedly embraces the principles of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice:
The crisis has just begun to reach a crescendo of outcry and fundamental questions are being asked, such as: How many mentally ill children are in the juvenile justice system? How many entered that system because they could not get help earlier? What kind of mental health care do they get once in the system? How many of them would have ended up in juvenile justice despite receiving adequate attention from other agencies? As the answers to these questions begin to trickle in, we are informed by recent studies made available through the Coalition that:
While at different times, a single agency may
have primary responsibility, these youths are the community’s
responsibility and all responses developed for them should be
collaborative in nature, reflecting the input and involvement of the
mental health, juvenile justice and other systems. Best practices and greater collaboration between the two systems and the community-at-large must be established with a sense of urgency. To do anything less would be ‘juvenile injustice’ at its worse. Oscar Wright is the Chief Executive Officer for the United Advocates for Children and Families, a statewide advocacy, policy and training organization for families, youth and children. Your comments are welcomed. He can be contacted at: owright@uacf4hope.org and at www.uacf4hope.org. Mental Illness in Children Touches Every Member of the Family ..... And Where They Work!
When I first became aware of the fact that 1 out of 10 children suffer from a severe mental disorder, I was literally stunned. Worst yet, only 1 out of 5 of these children get needed services and treatment; a crisis by no other name, wouldn't you agree?
Imagine these kids sitting in classrooms, unable to learn, not reading and paying no attention; an invisible population soon to become disturbingly visible later in life. Needless to say, children's mental health disorders persist into adulthood. Seventy-four percent of 21 year olds with mental disorders had prior problems. They will now enter the workforce and have a direct impact on productivity, absenteeism and turnover rates.
But what about the stress and strain on their families, unpaid caregivers, who are currently paid workers in the local business community. Considering the fact that family support is a critical element in addressing the issues of children's mental health, the following facts are sobering indeed:
The crisis is escalating, and will undoubtedly become a major preoccupation for families, schools, businesses and government agencies for years to come. Until recently, little attention was paid by courts and enforcement agencies. But amid an increase in lawsuits and questions from the public, new, in-depth guidance on caregivers rights is emerging on several fronts, from court rulings to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission advisories.
Employers and caregivers, working together, can make a difference in the workplace in a way that strengthens the caregiver's capacity to support and provide resources to their families and special needs children. We recommend the following steps to employers and human resource managers as starters:
Review
policies and procedures that may affect caregivers--such as
alternative or flexible work schedule policies, sick and personal
leave policies, and mandatory overtime policies--to be sure the
policies and their administration are nondiscriminatory. While
employers are not obligated to accommodate employees' family
responsibilities, the employer policies and practices must be
implemented without regard to protected class.
There's not a single business or employer unaffected by mental health issues in the workplace. We need to get on the same track and create a triple win-win-win for children, families and employers.
Oscar Wright is the Chief Executive Officer for the United Advocates for Children and Families, a statewide advocacy, policy and training organization for families, youth and children. Your comments are welcomed. He can be contacted at:
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