U.S. Sen. Al Franken, along with a litany of colleagues, the governor, state lawmakers and experts, are saying for too long now America and Minnesota has not properly addressed mental health issues among students in the schools.
So, as part of a greater effort following Sandy Hook and other school shootings over the past dozen years, Franken and several other politicians in the past month all announced similar efforts to expand education’s reach to help prevent more violence. They want to establish or broaden student access and institutional partnerships to help prevent future tragedies by early on identifying kids in need and providing all the care they require, according to the proposals.
“I’m happy a lot of attention is being placed on beefing up the mental health care system, but there’s no quick fix,” said Jeffrey Hardwig, a psychiatrist with Rainy Lake Medical Center and a local proponent of more mental health care. “It’s been underfunded for so long, and now we are reaping the consequences.”
Franken’s bill, called the Mental Health in Schools Act, also has a companion piece in the House of Representatives as well as a separate bill aimed at treating those with mental health problems in the country’s prisons and jails.
In addition, Gov. Mark Dayton, St. Paul legislators and Human Services Department officials also have their own nascent budget plans and bills to tackle the complicated, expensive and often intertwined connections between a student’s mental well being and the public’s safety.
Franken’s initiative would provide $200 million in grant funding annually for the next five years. Based on the size of the school, one could apply for up to $1 million per year, according to a news release from Franken’s office.
The bill would provide training grants not only for school employees but also for families and volunteers. The idea is for people to be able to recognize the signs of students with behavioral and mental health problems and then connect them to the right services, according to Franken’s announcement.
The senator’s thoughts are certainly in the right place, said International Falls’ public schools Superintendent Nordy Nelson. Access and training is wonderful, he said, but he added he hopes this isn’t another federal project that “gets dropped by the wayside” a few years down the road.
“This would need to be a concerted effort that is in-depth and deep,” Nelson said. “I would be nervous this would just deal with the tip of the iceberg.”
Franken said Minnesota ranks 48th in the United States with one counselor per 780 students.
Falls High School currently has a single counselor for all grades. But Nelson said they have additional measures in place, such as a Koochiching County social worker on hand. Nelson added that they do work as as a team with principals, professionals and families when these issues become apparent.
He went on to say administrators also will make a referral to the proper agency or authority if they hear about a possible threat.
They also can be spread pretty thin sometimes, Nelson added, and more training and resources are always welcome.
Overall, Nelson complimented Franken’s ideas “if it gets people in the schools trained in the mental health arena.” Having the right people in the right place at the right time obviously is a good thing, he said.
Up until Friday, the district had another counselor from the state-created nonprofit Northeast Service Cooperative. Nelson said she worked mainly in small settings within the two elementary schools, until her contract ran out. It was partially paid for through a couple outside sources, he said.
It will be up to the school board to decide whether to renew the position, Nelson said. Board members Michael Holden and Michelle Hebner told The Journal they were uncertain if or when that would occur.
According to the co-op’s website, violence prevention training is among its services.
“Addressing the mental and emotional needs of our kids is just as important as keeping them safe from physical injury and illness,” Franken stated. “Healthy kids grow into healthy adults, and if we’re able to catch and address mental health issues early, we can help kids become productive members of society.”
Hardwig said bills like Franken’s are a start for an American mental health system he described as “skeleton” compared to what it once was 50 years ago.
“The problem with addressing violence in our country is a complex one,” Hardwig said. “It’s been politicized, and when that happens people tend to get tunnel vision when it comes to certain issues.”
A number of measures, such as gun control, are now before Congress at the president’s behest and have faced serious bipartisan opposition at times.
Franken is expected to bring up his bill during a hearing Thursday on school safety, spokeswoman Alexandra Fetissoff said.
During a Senate health committee hearing last month, Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, connected early identification to much better chances of successful treatment.
Insel told Franken that those who receive treatment for mental health problems are 15 times less likely to commit violent acts, including homicide. He called early detection “absolutely vital.”
As for Hardwig, he estimated that up to 18 percent of his own patients are younger than 18. Hardwig also expressed excitement that the Falls will have its first-ever child psychiatrist, Tim Smith, here in 2014.
“That’s just a wonderful thing, otherwise the nearest child psychiatrists are in Bemidji and Duluth,” Hardwig said.
U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Calif., also joined Franken as author of the House companion piece to his bill. She said a key to the legislation’s success will be de-stigmatizing mental health disorders in society.
Former Republican Twin Cities Congressman Jim Ramstad also recently joined Franken’s ongoing efforts in a Star Tribune editorial. Ramstad said the bill would help bridge the gap between mental and physical health treatment. They said they want to further the long-term goals started in the 2008 Mental Illness Parity law.
Franken’s bill has been endorsed by about 90 Minnesota organizations, including the Range Mental Health Center.
A week ago, state Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson pushed for Dayton’s new proposal to double grants that bring mental health help and early intervention to Minnesota’s schools. They used Range Mental Health Center’s efforts in Hibbing as an example of a school-linked model that could be duplicated.
Dayton said he wants to make services available to an estimated 13,900 students annually by 2017. More than half would receive treatment for the first time.
The proposal would cost $12.3 million over the next two fiscal years. Dayton also said his budget includes a cost-neutral plan to teach family members the skills to help a child at home. It would be funded with projected savings from reduced use of state psychotherapy benefits, he said.
Finally, state Sen. Kathy Sheran, DFL-Mankato, Minn., also introduced a bill she called “a legislative mental health response to recent violence.” Sheran, like the others, said she wants more early intervention and action, according to a news release.
“If you do this, you’re able to and more likely to decrease the progression of more serious forms of this illness,” Sheran said.
