HOUSE BILL REPORT
HB 1829
BYRepresentatives Phillips, Cole, Fuhrman, Rayburn, Valle, Jones, Rasmussen, G. Fisher, Peery, Dorn, Leonard, Holland, Anderson, Winsley, Jacobsen, Crane, Pruitt, Rector, Wineberry, P. King, O'Brien, Locke, Schoon, Brekke, Patrick, Ferguson, Todd, Appelwick and K. Wilson
Establishing school-based early intervention projects.
House Committe on Education
Majority Report: Do pass. (17)
Signed by Representatives Peery, Chair; G. Fisher, Vice Chair; Betrozoff, Ranking Republican Member; Brumsickle, Cole, Dorn, Fuhrman, Holland, Jones, Phillips, Pruitt, Rasmussen, Rayburn, Schoon, Valle, Walker and K. Wilson.
House Staff:Susan Patrick (786-7111)
AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION FEBRUARY 23, 1989
BACKGROUND:
In the 1983-85 biennium, the division of mental health put in place 10 Primary Intervention Projects in selected school districts. The program was based on the Primary Mental Health Program of Rochester, New York which has been in operation since 1958. The purpose of the program was to identify children with social and emotional problems or early signs of being at-risk and to provide support and treatment for these children to prevent greater problems in later life. The original projects were placed in the following school districts: Seattle, Highline, Clarkston, Federal Way, Edmonds, Mukilteo, Lake Stevens, San Juan, Selah and Toppenish. Funding for these programs has been at the discretion of the division of mental health. In 1988, the Governor's Task Force on Children included as one of its recommendations that the Primary Intervention Program be expanded to a statewide program.
SUMMARY:
It is the intent of the legislature to establish a school-based early prevention and intervention project designed for the early detection and prevention of emotional, behavioral and learning problems in the primary grades. The goal of the program is, by early intervention, to prevent problems in later life and to allow the child to derive the maximum benefit from school.
The Secretary of the Department of Social and Health Services may grant funds to selected school districts to implement the school-based early intervention project. The secretary, in consultation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall develop guidelines for the projects including the following elements: (1) The project shall serve children in grades kindergarten through three; (2) Children above grade three may be served if they represent no more than 15 percent of the participants; (3) The project shall serve children referred by the screening program, teachers, pupil service personnel, parents or community agencies; and (4) Parental consent is required before screening or participation and parents should be involved in the treatment plan.
The intervention project shall have a core team consisting of a children's mental health professional and staff paraprofessionals. Children's mental health professional is defined as a school district psychologist, social worker or elementary counselor, a licensed physician or osteopath, a psychiatrist or psychologist or aperson holding a masters degree in nursing, social work or behavior or the medical field with two years of supervised experience working with emotionally or behaviorally disturbed children. One of the paraprofessionals shall act as the project coordinator.
The children's mental health professional shall be responsible for: Preparing school personnel to work with the project; planning and conducting screening; supervising and scoring screening components; interpreting screening data to parents and teachers; developing a referral system; making decisions on accepting children into the project; developing a home program involving parents; recruiting, training, evaluating and supervising paraprofessionals; conducting conferences to assess children's progress and the status of the project; and establishing a procedure for referring children to other services in the public or private sector.
The project coordinator paraprofessional, working under the supervision of the children's mental health professional, shall provide services to children and be responsible for coordinating the communications about the project to the school, children's mental health professional and parents. The project coordinator shall also schedule appointments and maintain records. Training for the paraprofessional shall include child development, children's behavior problems, parent and child relationships, intervention skills, and crisis intervention.
No later than September 1, 1989, the Department of Social and Health Services shall issue to school districts a request for proposals consistent with the provisions of this chapter. No later than January 1, 1990, the Department of Social and Health Services shall contract with at least three school districts to provide school-based early intervention projects for a period of two years. The cost of the projects shall be funded based on 70 percent state mental health funds and 30 percent school district funds. The school district share may be partially financed by cash or in-kind contributions, including staff, space, equipment, materials and administrative services. The space should be attractive and engaging to young children and the equipment should include items that encourage child participation in expressive play.
Projects shall be selected based on the following minimum criteria: (1) Availability of professional and other program staff with related experience and interest in early intervention; (2) Evidence of future stability of the program and personnel; (3) The application site would serve a wide range of economic, ethnic and cultural populations; (4) Demonstration of strong support by the staff of the school district and a written agreement with a community mental health provider for outgoing referrals; (5) Assurance that the grants will supplement existing local resources; and (6) Assurance that the project will not replace or adversely affect any existing special education program the school district currently provides.
The project shall be administered by the Department of Social and Health Services. A committee composed of administrators from the department, including the division of mental health and the bureau of children's services; the Superintendent of Public Instruction; local school district; licensed community mental health providers and other community representatives will assist the department in selecting projects and providing ongoing coordination, monitoring and evaluation.
The Department of Social and Health Services shall adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this act. The department shall also be responsible for the cost of ongoing training and consultation provided by the department. Training shall be consistent with the demonstrated model and one of the original sites shall become a demonstration training research center in the future.
An appropriation of $616,000 is made from the general fund to the Department of Social and Health Services for the biennium ending June 30, 1991. This appropriation is separate from and in addition to any other appropriations available to the Department of Social and Health Services.
Appropriation: $616,000 to the Department of Social and Health Services.
Fiscal Note: Available.
House Committee ‑ Testified For: Representative Larry Phillips; Mark Stedman, Onalaska School District; Fred Schwindl, Morton School District; Dan Phelan, Toppenish School District; Phil Sorensen, Edmonds School District; George Warren, Quillayute Valley School District; Bert Campbell, Highline School District; Gary Ness, HARK Coalition; Bob Fisher, Washington Education Association; and Debbie Bratt, Rhonda Schroeder and Amy Powroznik, Lake Stevens School District.
House Committee - Testified Against: Jim Lengenfelder, Department of Social and Health Services.
House Committee - Testimony For: This is a program which has demonstrated its effectiveness and efficiency through the use of a children's mental health specialist who trained paraprofessionals to work directly with children. The flexibility of the program which can reach young children and their families and has a demonstrated success record is a rarity.
House Committee - Testimony Against: Although this is a successful program within the Department of Social and Health Services, the Department cannot support the bill. The bill is not part of our current budget request.