The Elephant in the room

We had an emergency meeting of the Blue Ribbon Task Force against Child Abuse. Texas has seen an increase in infant deaths from abuse in the past few months. The children were all all under the age of 3 months. We thought we were being called together to mobilize and do something to help these innocents live in an environment free of fear and death at the hands of their care givers. What we heard was how Child Protective Services was re-aligning it's staff. A few years ago, the case workers were drowning in paperwork and couldn't be in the field where the kids needed them. There was a cry from the people to do something to fix this and the 50% turn over rate For CPS case workers. We got that. Turnover now is at 2%. But since there is much less turnover now there are more staff in positions not "needed". So positions will be eliminated or adjusted to move over to work on foodtsamp applications, which is woefully behind in processing new applications. So we are back to no clerical support for the case workers. Another very interesting fact is there will be 1 million dollars designated to provide mandatory drug testing in the families that are receiving Family Based Safety Plan Services. So we now have parents who will test positive, but they have no money for treatment. There are very few treatment options for anyone who is covered by Medicaid or Medicare, which the majority of these families probably will be. Even those who have private insurance are hard pressed to find a program anywhere in the city or South Texas. No answer there again. We all know substance abuse is a blight on the country. We all know it causes a myriad of economic, social, medical and psychological issues. Mentally ill people use street drugs to self medicate. There is much less stigma to being a drug addict than being mentally ill. I know a parent who was relieved to know her 16 year old girl was just addicted to crack, and not "crazy". Until the state and the city commits to making substance abuse treatment a viable option for people who need it, nothing will change. Until Mental Health providers stop fighting over what is a priority and treat the entire person, nothing will change. Children who are raised in a drug abusing home are 10 times more likely to develop substance dependence themselves as well as mental health issues such as anxiety disorders, personality disorders and post traumatic stress disorder. Certain drugs can bring about schizophrenic type episodes and psychosis. Talk to your councilperson and let them know how you feel about the lack ofsuch a painfully obvious needed resource for our city. Let them know we all know the problem. We all know part of the solution. Stop throwing money at tourism and increasing economic development and focus on developing a city that grows healthy and strong families. Speak out for drug treatment to be part of the promise for a stronger San Antonio.
Demand insurance companies provide coverage for treatment of addiction just as they would any medical issue. Push for parity in the true sense of the word. Do some research on mental health and addiction. Then research child abuse cases. The path is clear. Will you be a voice for change for our kids? I hope so.

Here's a Kids Story. Is she someone you know?

I have told you stories about how we can impact children by helping them with what they have to deal with in today's world. Today, I decided to give you a snapshot of one of these kids and what it is she has to cope everyday. Leslie is a precocious 8 year old with long dark curls and beautifully curly lashes. She is bright and can sing like an angel, which she enjoys. It is one of her few joys, she says. She also has just been admitted to the hospital for cutting her wrist, so deep she needed 24 stitches and a blood transfusion. Leslie was the child of addicts. From the time she was a toddler, her daddy injected her with crystal meth, cocaine and variety of other drugs. Then he raped her from the time she was 4, every day, until just a few weeks ago when she went to live with a foster family. She remembers the nights especially. The smells, the sounds and the pain. She also remembers the blood. There was a lot of blood. She learned not to cry and scream because it only made it worse for her. Things got shoved in her mouth if she made too much noise. So she learned to leave her body while this was happening. She learned that pain can be overcome by "checking out" as she calls it. But she said you have to come back sometime. And it gets too real too fast. When the pressure of her life gets too much for her little shoulders and mind to bear, she cuts. The blood is sanctifying and washes away the dirt. She has few friends. Everyone knows there is something different about her, but they have no idea really just how deep it goes. She is haunted by pieces of memories that are too horrible to talk about right now. She can't see anything past where she has already been. She needs counseling and intense therapy. She needs to know she is more than the sum of what was done to her.She needs to know that does not have to define her life. She needs to be able to do that at her own pace and with loving support from at least one person she can learn to trust. She has just learned that she will always be susceptible to addiction, because she was not able to grow up learning how to deal with normal feelings without substances clouding her perceptions. She knows her kids may have th same possible probelm with addiction. She has trouble sometimes figuring out what is real. This may sound like an extreme case to you, but these are the kids I see everyday, either at the clinic, in juvenile custody or on the streets selling themselves for rent. These kids are the forgotten ones. Meanwhile a battle rages in the mental health profession over what is the priority to treat, substance abuse or psychiatric issues. I have a news flash. They are both equally important and substance abuse by children, even if it was forced upon them by direct ingestion or by growing up in a crack house has just a big a place in treatment as bipolar and depression. But take a quick look at the availability of effective substance abuse interventions for kids from the age of 10-18. In my area there are relatively none. What does that say about just how well the industry is keeping up with what the community needs? I think we can all agree kids are in desperate need of help in all aspects of their lives. Substance abuse deserves an equal amount of money and attention in treating a child. After all wellness included the entire body, mind and soul. Total wellness cannot be achieved with anything less. My challenge to you is to let your city officials know we need to get kids treatment for drug issues as well as mental health issues. If we can bail out GM and AIG we can surely spend a few hundred million dollars on saving our kids. Aren't they worth it?