pages: CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-11-28.pdf, 20
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CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities | 2018-11-28 | 20 | ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, November 28, 2018, 6:30 PM students who don't have Medi-Cal, right? Jodi McCarthy: And so you'll see the long lines or the waitlists for our students, they're for students who don't have Medi-Cal And what our findings showed in this needs assessment is that our students without Medi-Cal are actually more stressed out, having more suicidal ideation. And so we're chugging along, and again, over qualifying kids for special education services because it's the only game in town, simply because we can't afford to afford not to. Acting Chair Jenn Barrett: Commissioner Morrison. Leslie Morrison: Yeah, thank you so much for the presentation. And the statistics are really alarming, and I don't know that there's an easy fix. One of the questions I had was really about the availability of mental health services in the city, and I think you've already addressed that. I'm new to the commission, so I'm not really certain about the history, but I think that there is a paucity of mental health providers across the country, and particularly mental health providers for children. And my experience is there aren't a lot of mental health providers in the city of Alameda. Or people who are private pay. And so, I like you reaching out to Kaiser. I wonder about reaching out to some of the other providers. I don't think it's an easy solution. And I'm just sort of parroting what you've already said, but I think to put it all on the school district doesn't really seem fair, but it's a big problem, I don't know where to start. Jodi McCarthy: Well in the Kaiser and the health insurance it took me a year and a half to get the right person, I guess, because they're a huge are organization, and I'm a little person, looking for that right person at the right time to get in front of. Leslie Morrison: But there aren't a lot of child psychiatrists in the country. There aren't a lot of child therapists in the country. So it's not just an Alameda problem, it's kind of a national problem. I also don't know that private providers are really wanting to volunteer to provide mental health services. You talk about access point, certainly, special education is an access point, but you talk about people getting 5150'd because that's the way they can get into the mental health service community which, again, you don't want to be 5150-ing people to get them mental health services, but sometimes that's the only point of access because the wait list for therapy sessions is comparably six to eight weeks out anyway. Victoria Forester: We have actually instructed parents on how to go about that situation for kids that were in that desperate need. And I think that's among the hardest work I've ever done is to talk to a mom about how to call the police, and what to say to get your kid into a hospital. You can't unlearn that work. It's very, very difficult. And yet, sometimes that's what we have to do to get some of the help for mental health, particularly behavioral issues particularly at home. I can't always effect at home as educators during the day. So instructing parents on how to go about that is heart- wrenching. Leslie Morrison: The only other thought that I have is about developing a peer network in your schools, and I don't know if that would be a low cost or a no cost option, but certainly at schools of higher education that are really developing mental health services programs, they are really looking 03/13/19 Page 20 of 32 | CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-11-28.pdf |