Local Schools to get Mental Health Professionals

MOUNT VERNON — For some students, a school counselor can be a refuge from bullies or an open ear to vent about family troubles. But sometimes the school counselor is not enough. Starting in January, schools all across Skagit County will have a helping hand for students who might need mental health counseling.

Mount Vernon elementary schools had a taste of what it was like, with one mental health professional for the entire district. In January, the district will again have a mental health professional in schools, with two more by the end of 2008. In all, districts across the county will have 101/2 mental health professionals by the end of 2008, said Maile Keli’ipio-Acoba, director for Skagit County Human Services. It might take longer to find qualified people, she said.

“Mental health professionals are very hard to find,” Keli’ipio-Acoba said.

Finding enough within the one-year time frame might be hard, she said, but she hopes every kindergarten through eighth-grade school in the county can have someone on whom students can call. The professionals are funded by a 0.1 percent county sales and use tax for mental health. Catholic Community Services administers the program. This year’s program is projected to cost about $300,000.

Kevin Schwitter, school counselor for Washington Elementary in Mount Vernon, said his school had a mental health professional there for a half-day per week last year. Even in that short a time, students and families benefited.

“It gave them a chance to receive services that would have been difficult for them to get any other way,” Schwitter said. “This is a way to get more kids the services they need.”
Children who are on Medicaid often have trouble finding mental health counselors unless they have severe mental issues, Schwitter said.

Jean Champagne, director of special and support services for the Mount Vernon School District, said schools notify parents and get their permission before serving a child with mental health needs. “Mental health issues can really throw a wrench in kids’ ability to learn and behave well,” she said. The need in Skagit County is great, Champagne said.

Two organizations in the county have one child psychologist each, she said. After that, the next closest psychologist is in Bellingham. There are other barriers to access, especially income, that many families cannot surmount, she said.

Bill Cheney, a school psychologist for the Mount Vernon School District, said early mental health counseling can stave off future problems.“Some special education is about mental health issues that have gone untreated,” he said.

Having mental health professionals treat children in their own schools removes transportation issues as well as any stigma of going to a psychologist’s office, he said.
“We want them to be successful as a whole child,” Cheney said.

Thanks to Kate Martin of the Skagit Valley Herald for this article.