Federally funded Egyptian Health program explained in Carmi
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Jennifer Foote, Carolyn Hoskins and Lori Cullison have been there, and now it's their job to help parents who've dealt with the problems they've faced.
The three women were introduced to Carmi Kiwanians and their guests Thursday as "family resource developers," and they'll be working in the schools of White County this school year and for years to come, assisting students with mental health issues and their parents.
The speaker at Thursday's weekly meeting of the club, held at the Farm Bureau Building, was Kristen Melton, coordinator of the Egyptian Health Department's new, federally-funded Project Connect.
It's a partnership of the Eldorado-based health department (which serves the counties of White, Gallatin and Saline) and a "local area network" (LAN) designed to focus on finding solutions to children's mental health needs.
EHD was one of just 20 agencies nationwide to win a share of the $9 million, six-year grant, Melton said; until this year, there were only 64 active systems of care in the U.S. And the only others in Illinois are in McHenry County (northwest of Chicago) and Champaign County.
Foote will work in the Carmi-White County school system, Cullison at Grayville and Hoskins in the Norris City-Omaha-Enfield district, said Melton.
She opened her discussion by noting that one in five children is affected by a mental health problem, and two-thirds of the children who have that problem aren't receiving the help they need. That can lead in some cases to suicide, the leading cause of death among children between the ages of 5 and 14, Melton said.
"Is the system working?" she asked, and then answered, "Probably not as well as it should." Boxes of Lego blocks were distributed to the Kiwanians as part of an exercise designed to encourage them to think about how a good mental health system would be developed.
Bob Endicott suggested that there may be many agencies and individuals dealing with a child's problem, but the former school counselor said they may not be coordinating their efforts.
Scott Grey, a guest of Steve McClure, said that activities and fun things are a vital part of children's mental health.
And Dave Johnson, a retired school administrator, suggested that one in four high school students have an individual instruction plan, indicating that "in some way they're exceptional, which is a better word than what was once used." Schools don't have sufficient resources to deal with the problems of their students, said Johnson, adding that the only regular meals that some children get are at school. And he added that some children are born while their parents are under the influence of drugs. "So they're 20 feet behind before they've been born."
Melton agreed that physical health and hunger play a role in affecting a child's mental health.
And she said that though many agencies and individuals are working hard to help children, there is a need for a more effective system.
"Our vision is to build a system of care-Project Connect-to be the missing piece in addressing children's mental health," Melton told the club. Project Connect will pull together the services provided by a variety of other resources and help fight the stigma surrounding mental health, she said.
Family resource developers such as Foote, Hoskins and Cullison will be in each school district in the three counties in the school year ahead, she said, then introduced Foote.
"We'll be a support system for parents," Foote told the group. "We have advocated for our own children, helped them get counseling and medication and everything they've needed to deal with their problems.
"We've all been there, and we can suggest what might work, a doctor or a service, a counselor, a church or another organization.
"A person can lead a healthy, productive life if they get the proper support," she added.
Foote said she and her peers plan to start support groups where parents can share their problems and get ideas to solve them. "We'll tell them that there is hope and there is a place to go."
Parent training is also on the agenda. "Our job is to link parents with the resources they need," she said. And that may cover clothing, food, even housing and dealing with public aid agencies.
"We can help them with the paperwork and teach them so that they can learn to advocate for their own children," Foote told the club. "We'll teach them how to understand what their children need and how to discuss it appropriately with their school officials.
"It's difficult to live with a person with a mental illness who is not being treated adequately," she added.
Melton said the developers will "walk the parents through" the steps they need to take to get the appropriate help for their children.
"The parents will have a team of support," she said, adding that studies show this type of system works and that children whose parents become involved in the process in this way are more likely to succeed.
A LAN is already in place and has some resources available for children suffering from mental health problems, Melton said. It meets at 9 a.m. on the first Tuesday of each month at the EHD office in Eldorado.
"Working together is the best option for stabilizing the serious emotional disorders that involve children and families," Melton said.
In response to questions, Foote said school counselors, social workers or psychologists will refer children to her; Melton said others in the community can refer children to her. And she cautioned that the developers aren't counselors. "They're for support services and to get those services linked together. They have experience and they know the frustrations that parents experience."
Foote said a developer will meet with parents wherever it is comfortable to them.
No one will be forced into treatment, said Melton. "Nothing says they have to" accept help.
The group plans to attack the "stigma" of mental health problems through education. Foote said it's all about getting information to parents about what is appropriate behavior, what is emotionally normal and what behavior may need to be dealt with.