March 28, 2008 by Joseph Kenny, Review Staff Writer. The teenage boy in St. Louis County had struggled with his mental health. Eventually he committed suicide. Recently, his mother told supporters of the Putting Kids First initiative in St. Louis County that she feels she and others may have known how to look for signs of the impending suicide if they had access to services they needed.
In the early 1990s, Missouri passed a law allowing counties to establish local community children’s service funds to provide mental health services to children from birth to age 19. Since then, several counties have established a tax for the fund, including Lincoln, St. Charles and Jefferson counties and the City of St. Louis. It is desperately needed in St. Louis County, according to Catholic social workers who seek to meet the needs of children.
"We have tremendous resources in St. Louis in terms of providers, but we lack the funding to really adequately put our arms around our kids and create that safety net," said Kate Tansey, clinical director for Catholic Family Services. An initiative petition being circulated by a coalition called Putting Kids First seeks to place a one-fourth-cent sales tax on the November ballot to raise about $40 million to help children and teens in St. Louis County. In regard to respecting life, it is truly a pro-life effort, Tansey and others say. St. Charles County passed a similar tax in 2004 and has seen 18.5 percent fewer teen pregnancies, a higher percentage of teens graduate from high school and less crime committed by juveniles, Tansey said. Because of the funding, Tansey said, "we’re able to intervene at a less traumatic time and help families and kids get back on track."
Cuts in state and federal budgets in recent years have affected funding for mental health and substance abuse services, she noted. Catholic Family Services helps those with insurance, those on Medicaid and those who are uninsured. "As a result of budget cuts, we’ve had less and less resources to help subsidize care when people don’t have resources," Tansey said. "We’ve had to turn people away, and that’s not something we want to do." Some 1,400 children and teens were turned away last year when seeking temporary shelter. An assessment in St. Louis County showed that overall 12,000 children and teens went without services. That number equals the number of students in the Ferguson-Florissant school district or a combination of the Brentwood, Clayton, Ladue, Maplewood and Webster Groves districts. School-based services are needed for some 150,000 students, Tansey said. Services are particularly needed in Catholic schools. "For example, we may have money for a fourth-grade or eighth-grade substance abuse or suicide prevention program, with people coming in and teaching healthy messages to prevent those things, but we don’t have money for the other grades. By creating a community services resource fund we will have the resources. If schools need a social worker or school counselor, this fund will help elicit those resources through not-for-profit agencies.
"There are few child and adolescent psychiatric providers in St. Louis County, Tansey said, and often patients without insurance end up seeking help at a hospital emergency room. "Those kids have to get a lot worse before they’re treated. They have to be a danger to themselves or others before they’re helped." The agency has seen the positive results of funding in surrounding counties that have passed a tax. "They’re proactive. It’s much more cost effective when you get out in front of issues rather than treat the symptoms," Tansey said. "We respect life, all life. Folks who have mental illness, they deserve our special attention and protection," she added. "We can help them create quality, healthy lives." Supporters of the initiative point out that it will set aside one penny for every $4 spent in St. Louis County. Children are worth the cost, Tansey said. "Of course, every family should take care of their own kids. Ideally that would be great, but it’s not always possible." Varied services Funds can be used for respite care; temporary, emergency shelter; transitional living programs for older youth; outpatient psychiatric treatment; counseling; crisis intervention; outpatient substance abuse treatment; home and school-based family intervention; school-based prevention programs and services to teen mothers. Jerry Marks, executive director of Catholic Family Services, noted that Lincoln County funds counselors from his agency at all three Catholic schools there. The agency also has grants for services in St. Charles County. "In St. Louis County," he said, "there’s no substance abuse treatment services that are affordable. This is a really needed initiative." He cited the wide range of agencies involved, from Jewish Family and Children’s Services to Lutheran Family and Children’s Services, and from the Mental Health Association of Greater St. Louis to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. Michael Fitzgerald, Catholic Charities vice president of children’s services, called the initiative "a great opportunity for the Catholic community as well as the community at large to really invest in our children." The funding in the City of St. Louis helps improve reading skills and high school graduation rates, he said. It also provides intervention for those children with serious emotional disturbances. At Immaculate Conception School in Old Monroe, school counseling services are provided for students thanks to the community services fund passed in Lincoln County. A counselor for students through third grade is provided by the Crider Foundation. The counselor provides early intervention services for children who are overly shy, overactive or have separation issues, said Sue Schutz, principal. In the upper grades, a counselor from Catholic Family Services works two days a week at the school and three days at Sacred Heart School in Troy. "It’s been a real blessing. It’s something that wouldn’t be in our budget to offer our students," Schutz said. With parental permission, counselors meet with students individually, serving as a neutral third party when students do not feel comfortable talking to parents or teachers. "We’ve had good feedback from students and parents," Schutz said. "They say it’s making a difference." The counselor also does classroom presentations on general issues, including bullying and peer interaction. "It re-inforces and works with the classroom teachers," Schutz said. "It’s been great for us." St. Vincent Home for Children operates a program funded by the St. Louis City Mental Health Board that provides emergency shelter for children not in state custody. The program offers intensive therapy with families to try to keep them together. "It is a very needed and very effective service," said Lee Ann Taylor, executive director. The agency frequently gets calls from St. Louis County residents regarding the service. "In our community and probably every community across the nation the mental health needs of children are underserved," Taylor said. "I strongly support St. Louis County following the lead of the city in investing in its children. Anything we can do to address the behavior and mental health needs of kids will help stabilize their lives and help them reach their full potential." Taylor noted that learned behaviors and patterns can be changed. Lower-income families are overrepresented in some areas, but drug and alcohol and mental health issues affect even the most affluent families. Some families may choose losing custody of their children to the state in order to get the services their children need, she noted. It is both inhumane and costly, she said. "For kids to grow up outside their family home is not a good option, but it does happen a lot." Avoiding crises Local initiatives that generate a consistent revenue counter volatile state budgets affected by the economy and other forces, said Kristi Sobbe, director of advocacy and communications for Covenant House Missouri. The agency, while not funded by the state, sees an influx of children in need when state programs are cut, she said. Covenant House does receive funding from St. Louis City for prevention efforts. A drop-in center in North St. Louis at the former Blessed Sacrament Parish provides a place for youth to gather for recreation and to access education, employment and other programs. "It gets kids in before they’re in a crisis on the street," Sobbe said. The agency serving homeless youths stresses prevention in talking to teens at schools. "There are no comprehensive large-scale programs serving St. Louis County children and adolescents not in state custody," Sobbe said. For information or to help with the initiative call (314) 749-8338 or see stlcokidsfirst.org.
