Objective C: Assure that the Department of Health and Social Services, the Department of Education and school districts are active, collaborative partners in providing for mental health needs of students.

Discussion

Children and youth with serious emotional disturbances (SED) are eligible for special education services if they meet criteria created by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and their disabilities interfere with their ability to learn. These children and youth must be provided with special education and related services in a manner set forth in an "Individualized Education Plan" (IEP) which is developed by the student's parents and the school.

The criteria for certification for special education services exclude children and youth who are "socially maladjusted." In practice, this means that children and youth who have a diagnosis of "conduct disorder" are often unable to obtain special education and related services, even when these behaviors are severe. However, some children and youth with diagnoses of conduct disorder will meet the functional definition of disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This law requires school districts to provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities.

Other children and youth with less severe disorders may not qualify for special education services. Some school districts have counseling services, but many do not. Community mental health centers and certain other grantees of the Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities provide services to children and youth with emotional disturbances and conduct disorders.

There is evidence that in Alaska and nationwide, children and youth with emotional disturbances may be inappropriately segregated from other children and youth. Anecdotal evidence indicates that many schools exclude children and youth with emotional disabilities after failing to develop appropriate individualized behavior management plans for them.

Advocates for children and youth with emotional disabilities are concerned about the lack of coordination between schools and mental health providers. There is also concern that children and youth in state custody with emotional impairments do not receive coordinated services from their schools and their legal custodian due to lack of Division of Family and Youth Services input into the special education process.

Interventions at school can have major impacts on a child's functioning in other areas of his or her life. Cooperation among service providers is vital, and is required by the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Actions

7. The Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Education will promote opportunities for children and youth with serious emotional disturbances (SED) to receive mental health services in school settings.
Responsible party: Department of Health and Social Services, Department of Education

8. Enhance networking capacity between the departments of Health and Social Services and Education through development of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) regarding collaborative services for serious emotionally disturbed children and youth, including: a commonly understood vocabulary for education and mental health services staff; a review of policy and procedure manuals and other departmental guidance documents to identify barriers to collaborative services and means to enhance integration of services; and an implementation plan for review and approval by the commissioners. The MOA will address the possibility of merged funding streams for SED support services and protocols for a Memorandum of Agreement template for use at the local level that spells out Individual Education Program responsibility between school districts and mental health agencies.
Responsible party: Department of Heath and Social Services, Department of Education

9. Enhance the networking capacity between the departments of Health and Social Services and Education by creating a means to share and distribute information about significant children and youth's mental health issues and activities. This will be accomplished by a Department of Education grant to the Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education or the Alaska Mental Health Board for collection and dissemination of information regarding prevention activities, research, and innovative practices in services to serious emotionally disturbed children and youth, with an advisory group to identify objectives and annual implementation tasks for staff.
Responsible party: Department of Education

10. The Department of Education, Alaska Mental Health Board, Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education, Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities and Disability Law Center will research school district practices that adversely effect serious emotionally disturbed children and youth, for example: misuse of "conduct disorder" label to avoid special education services; numbers of SED children and youth suspended or dismissed from school; numbers of SED children and youth who drop out of school and reasons for leaving; etc.
Responsible party: Task group

11. The Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, Department of Education and Alaska Mental Health Board will identify opportunities to provide mental health consultation to Headstart, and other early childhood intervention programs, including Healthy Families.
Responsible party: Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, Department of Education, Alaska Mental Health Board

12. The mental health system will provide training to schools in the use of age appropriate screening tools for use by teachers and parents, and by school nurses/counselors, (where school districts have this personnel) and encourage offering social and family skills training.
Responsible party: Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities and grantees

13. The Department of Education in consultation with the Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities will provide training for teachers regarding class room adaptations to the learning needs of children and youth with emotional and mental disorders and how to work effectively with mental health case managers.
Responsible party: Department of Education

14. The Department of Education will provide training to educators in the development and implementation of behavior plans for students with behavior disorders/challenging behaviors and in working effectively with a treatment team.
Responsible party: Department of Education

15. The Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities will provide to the Department of Education information regarding disorders which may affect student performance.
Responsible party: Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities

16. The Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities will identify conflict resolution and emotional literacy materials and programs for use by schools.
Responsible party: Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities

17. Work with the Department of Education in the development of the plan for service integration required under the 1997 amendments to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Responsible party: Alaska Mental Health Board, Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education, Department of Education