Grant will Improve Children’s Access to Psychosocial Services

The University of Texas-Harris County Psychiatric Center Executive Director, Dr. Robert W. Guynn, and Chief Administrator, Lois Moore were presented with a $794,000 check Dec. 3 by U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, to fund a telehealth/tele-education initiative.

The funding, from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Technology Opportunity Program, will allow Harris County Psychiatric Center to implement a high-speed, interactive television network between the psychiatric center, Harris County Children’s Protective Services and Juvenile Probation Departments, the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority, and 15 schools located in seven Houston-area school districts and one rural public school district.

This collaborative will facilitate communication between school, medical and social service professionals, and will allow children to obtain access to psychosocial services. In Houston, access to community services is limited. Emotional and behavioral problems of children can lead to diminished quality of life, increased utilization of correctional facilities and chronic use of medical, social service and mental health resources.

While many school districts and teacher colleges provide psychological self-survival training for teachers, these same school districts, colleges and universities do not provide new teachers or students majoring in education with the training necessary to identify children who are at risk and, once identified, to know how or where to refer them for appropriate services. This new collaborative will change all that.

"We recognize that violent and aggressive behavior among our youth is a major public health problem," said Dr. Guynn, "and we also recognize that this tide cannot be stemmed by putting juveniles in jail, when what they really need is medical and psychological care."

Nearly 4 percent of school-age children have been caught with guns at school. Mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder begin affecting children at preschool ages. Other nonviolent children may also be at risk for illnesses such as eating disorders and substance abuse, while still others may need treatment for sexual and physical abuse.

Because the Houston area is so large (more than 6,000 square-miles), and the rate of poverty among the under-18 population is so high (more than 70 percent in the Houston Independent School District alone), access to behavioral health care is limited. In some Houston-area schools, for example, more than 60 percent of the students live in single-parent homes; in the custody of non-parents, including grandparents, other relatives or foster care; or are in the custody of the juvenile justice system or children’s protective services. Most of these children and their parents or guardians have difficulty living day to day and have little time or financial resources to access the health care system.

A significant number of children, 30 percent or more in some schools, come from families where English is a second language; in some cases, the only English-speaking member of the family is the child. This language barrier, along with cultural issues, contributes to the difficulty in knowing whom to call or where to go for help, even if the parent initially recognizes that there is a behavioral problem.

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