EBD Blog

For schools and local education agencies that are doing a good job of working collaboratively with local mental health agencies or aspire to do so, here is a fine funding opportunity. Wrap-around systems of care have well-known benefits for children and youths with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.

Grants for the Integration of Schools and Mental Health Systems (Federal Register: January 12, 2009 [CFDA# 84.215M])

Purpose of Program: Grants for the Integration of Schools and Mental Health Systems will provide funds to increase student access to high-quality mental health care by developing innovative approaches that link school systems with the local mental health system.

==> Applications Available: January 12, 2009.
==> Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: February 23, 2009.

Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that are considered LEAs under State law, and Indian tribes.

==> Estimated Range of Awards: $150,000-$400,000.
==> Estimated Average Size of Awards: $325,000.
==> Estimated Number of Awards: 15.

Link to the request for proposals. For more about wrap-around services, see the following sources.

• Burchard, J. D. (2000). How wraparound can help overcome three common barriers to successful transition services. Reaching Today’s Youth, 2(4), 49-51.
• Duckworth, S., Smith-Rex, S., Okey, S., Brookshire, M., Rawlinson, D., Rawlinson, R., Castillo, S., & Little, J. (2001). Wraparound services for young schoolchildren with emotional and behavioral disorders. Teaching Exceptional Children, 26, 54-60.
• Eber, L., Nelson, C. M., & Miles, P. (1997). School-based wraparound for students with emotional and behavioral challenges. Exceptional Children, 63, 539-555.
• Eber, L. (1996). Restructuring schools through wraparound approach: The LADSE Experience. In R. J. Illback & C. M. Nelson (Eds.), School-based services for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (pp. 139-154). Binghamton, NY: Haworth.
• Eber, L., & Nelson, C. M. (1997). Integrating services for students with emotional and behavioral needs through school-based wraparound planning. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 67, 385-395.
• Epstein, M. H., Kutash, K., & Duchnowski, A. (Eds.), Outcomes for children and youth with behavioral and emotional disorders and their families. Austin, TX: Pro Ed.
• Malysiak, R. (1997). Exploring theory and paradigm base for wraparound. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 6, 399-408.
• Malloy, J., Cheney, D., & Cormier, G. (1998). Interagency collaboration and the transition to adulthood for students with emotional or behavioral disabilities. Education and Treatment of Children, 31, 303-320.
• VanDenBerg, J. E., & Grealish, E. M. (1997). Individualized services and supports through the wraparound process: Philosophy and procedures. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 5, 7-21.
• Walker, J. S., & Schutte, K. (2003). Individualized Service/Support Planning and Wraparound: Research bibliography. Portland, OR: Portland State University, Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children’s Mental Health.

As some students with EBD grow older, their parents often are faced with critical decisions about ensuring that, as adults, they receive appropriate services. For individuals who may have sudden and substantial needs for psychiatric services, planning for ways to ensure that the person does get those services can be a bewildering problem. A psychiatric advanced directive may be helpful in such circumstances, and the UPenn Collaborative (a group to which I’ve referred previously on EBD Blog) has developed a guidebook and planning sheets for creating a mental health crisis plans or psychiatric advance directives.
Continue reading ‘Psychiatric advanced directives’

Mental health and related organizations are soliciting participation in a rally to urge the U.S. Congress to pass the legislation that will reform insurance rules to ensure that emotional and behavioral disorders (along with other mental health issues) are covered by health insurance policies. Here’s an example from Mental Health America (formerly the National Mental Health Association and the source of the image at the right):

Millions of Americans with mental disorders do not have equal access to health insurance. Many health plans discriminate against these people by limiting mental health and substance abuse healthcare by imposing lower day and visit limits, higher co-payments and deductibles and lower annual and lifetime spending caps.
Continue reading ‘Parity rally!’

According to correspondent Julio C. Abreu (Senior Director for Government Affairs at Mental Health America), negotiators for the US House and Senate are near or have reached a compromise that reconciles H.R. 1424 (“No Discrimination in Health Insurance Act of 2008″) and S. 558 (“Mental Health Parity Act of 2007″). These two bills are different versions of similar legislation that will require private health insurance plans to cover mental health (and other) services, just as they cover other conditions. This is, excuse me, HUGE for families of children and youths with emotional and behavioral disorders. I hope that the mental health community, including Mental Health America, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the Alliance for Children and Families, springs into action and endorses resolution of this long-festering problem.
Continue reading ‘Legislation to cheer’

The paper mail included a copy of Focal Point, the periodical from the Research and Training Center (RTC) on Family Support and Children’s Mental Health at Portland (OR, US) State University. As usual, it includes many worthwhile articles. It reminded me that I should reminder readers of EBD Blog about the RTC.

Continue reading ‘PDX RTC’