InterFace Fall 2009 - MHMRA of Harris County

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Volume 13 Number 3
The Mental Health and Mental Retardation
Authority of Harris County
Fall 2009
Celebrate Destination Dignity Month on Saturday,
September 26, at Conference Center. Info: 713-957-1600
Summer Camp fun,
it’s for everybody
By E. VERNELL JESSIE
Did you get to camp as a child? Did you get to
camp as an adult? More than 140 consumers of the
ARC, plus 100 staff and volunteers, experienced the
time of their Lives recently. For the 10th year in a row,
The Arc of Greater Houston has hosted and trained
staff and volunteers to ensure that CAMP truly is for ALL
at CAMP FOR ALL Camp Champions.
“We were one of the earliest to sign on at the
opening a decade ago, and we have gone from a
taking 35 to 140 to camp each summer, and we also
do a fall camp in October,” says Judy Kantorczyk,
executive director of The Arc of Greater Houston.
“We not only have amazing consumers and parents,
some of whom raise money for their family member as
well as others, but we have one volunteer who took it
upon herself to raise money for five participants – and
she was a senior in high school.
Our volunteers are just the best,” she said.
See Camp, page 4
Cleaning for children’s health
By LAURA ABULAFIA
We spend on average 90 percent of our
time indoors. This means that our homes, our
workplaces, our schools and recreational
facilities are the spaces we breathe in the most
air, drink our water and eat our food. Making
sure that these indoor spaces are clean and safe
is important for our health.
Indoor toxins such as mold, soot, and dust
can be harmful to the body and mind, and can
affect brain
This newsletter is published by
MHMRA of Harris County
Board of Trustees
Lynne Cleveland, Chairman
Mae F. McMillan, M.D., Vice Chairman
Paige Michael Cokinos, Secretary
Victor C. Alvarez
Bob Borochoff
Jane Cherry
Alfred H. Forsten
Dr. Tom Hamilton
Gerald W. Womack
P.O. Box 25381
Houston, Texas 77265-5381
Executive Director
Steven B. Schnee, Ph.D.
Public Affairs Director
Vernell Jessie
_______________________
Questions and Comments
may be directed to
Public Affairs Office
P.O. Box 25381
Houston, TX 77265-5381
(713) 970-7000
www.mhmraharris.org
See Children’s Health, page 3
Community mental health
forums get word out at
grass-roots level
Just as every child needs the proper back to school supplies for a successful school year,
there is yet another item in their toolbox that is sometimes overlooked … an examination
of what is needed for your child’s mental health leading into the school year. Mental health
professionals will tell you that, across the board, whether its those anxious moments in pre-k or
making that transition into high school and on to college, your good mental health state matters.
A group of Third Ward Community organizations wants to make sure that the array of services
for those who may be in need of mental health services is at the disposal of parents and educators.
Joining in their collective discussions to empower parents as the school year approaches are a
number of organizations assembling a mental health awareness back to school forum with the county
mental health authority, MHMRA of Harris County.
MHMRA is being asked to come to the table and provide an awareness of what is offered and
just how those services can be accessed for those needing them, said community organizer Roy
Dean Moore. Moore, retired from MHMRA as director of community engagement, says his active
participation in the community still leads him to believe, years later, that there remains a dire need to
get information on mental health out to the surrounding areas and specifically Third Ward.
“So much has changed in terms of what can and cannot be provided. We just want to make sure
that the community is up to date,” says Moore.
“Houston Sun Newspaper Publisher Dorris Ellis added, “With
the presidential emphasis on health, we just want to make sure
that mental health is not lost in the discussion and that can best be
done at the local grass-roots level”.
BACK TO SCHOOL: Mental Health Matters was offered in two
parts in conjunction with the Emancipation Park School kick-off,
beginning in mid summer.
“We just want to
make sure that
the community
is up to date.”
Both parts of the forum for parents were offered at the Third Ward Multi-Services Center, 3611 Ennis.
The event was free to the general public and refreshments were served and drawings held for the parents
in attendance.
Sponsors include: Houston Department of Health and Human Services: South Region Advisory Council
Neighborhood Services Division, MHMRA of Harris County, Houston Sun Newspaper, Friends of Emancipation
Park, Houston League of Business and Professional Women, Stewart Development, Attorney at Law Evan
Wolfe, P.A.
Plans for additional workshops are underway with a culmination of a major observance for
Mental Health month in May 2010.
Advocacy may be hope for autism treatment
By K PICA KAHN
Autism continues to leave families struggling
to find and afford help for their children. Expensive
treatment programs leave many families scrambling
for help.
“I get calls all of the time from families living
with autism, looking for support and services,” said
MHMRA of Harris County
Michelle Guppy, facilitator of the Autism Society
of America Chapter of Texas and mom to Brandon,
her son with autism. “I get calls all of the time from
people asking for respite care. The school district
just can’t do it. They aren’t trained to deal with it.
Often it has to come from the private sector and it is
expensive.”
Often financial difficulties prevent families from
getting the help they need. Insurance companies,
2
although better about coverage, continue to prohibit
many needed services.
“What do they do?” asks Guppy. “They go into
debt, they mortgage their houses, they borrow, they
do whatever they have to do. The biggest need is for
more services and educational intervention using
ABA Applied Behavior Analysis.”
See Autism, page 4
Online referral is easy to use and free
By LESLIE GERBER
Parents of children with special needs arising
from behavioral, emotional or cognitive disabilities
face an extra measure of challenge finding child
care resources and school programs. Given limited
resources, the search can be lonely and disheartening.
Collaborative for Children, a nonprofit
organization that supports quality early care and
education for all children from birth to age 5, offers a
helping hand in matching a child with various kinds of
programs that can meet the child’s individual needs.
This can be through an individual online search or
by calling one of the parent educator/consultants who
can provide additional help.
Whether it is before/after school care, a licensed
child care center, private school or other programs
that is needed, the CC online referral service is easy
to use and links parents with thousands of Houstonarea programs. The service is free and simply requires
entering a range of preferences, which include needs
for special physical or mental health care. To access
the service go to www.collabforchildren.org.
The database includes all kinds of programs, but
for licensed child care centers offers a new consumer
rating system called QualiFind that rates programs
as Excellent, Good or Minimal based on six criteria:
• Compliance with licensing standards
• Teacher-to-child ratio and group sizes
• Accreditation
• Family involvement
• Teacher education and training
• Teacher tenure
The CC parent educator/consultants familiar
with the challenges faced by parents of children with
special needs can talk parents through the search
process. Services for special needs children are
limited, according to the family engagement director,
but the good news is that today many centers and
programs look more closely at the individual rather
than a diagnosis.
Parents can call 2-1-1 to reach a parent educator/
consultant or call Collaborative for Children to learn
about additional services at 713-600-1234.
Gerber is assistant vice president of Community
Engagement for Collaborative for Children.
Think about indoor air quality
Children’s Health from page 1
development. Likewise, chemicals
that we intentionally use indoors
can impact indoor air quality.
Cleaning
with
conventional
cleaning products, for instance,
may be harmful to your health.
Conventional cleaning products
may contain toxic ingredients
that can not only cause rashes,
headaches, nausea and dizziness,
but can also lead to long-term
health problems such as asthma,
cancer and lung disease. Many
are known to affect the respiratory
system, central nervous system,
reproduction,
development,
kidney and liver.
Children are more vulnerable
to toxic exposures because they
eat, breathe, and drink more
per pound of body weight than
adults and when exposed to these
harmful chemicals, children can
have long-term health problems.
Furthermore, children’s organ
systems continue developing
through early childhood, and are
thus more vulnerable to adverse
effect. Longer exposures, such as
exposures since early childhood,
to some toxicants lead to greater
body burdens with potentially
more detrimental health outcomes.
Those with existing disabilities
may be more vulnerable, both
with regard to exposure and
absorption, and thus at even
greater risk.
There are many things in our
homes that can affect your health
and the health of your family. The
good news is that there are simple
steps you can take to reduce these
risks. Minimizing toxic household
products now can reduce health
risks both now and in the long
run.
Exposures in the home range
from cleaning products, pesticides
and rodent poison, detergents,
and air fresheners. For example,
cleaning products and laundry
detergent can contain strong
smells and chemicals that can
affect you and your families.
Consider changing to less toxic
cleaners and fragrance free or
homemade cleaners like baking
soda and water, or vinegar.
Also, many chemicals in personal
care products and cosmetics
can enter your body as you use
them every day. These items can
contain chemicals that can affect
the hormone system, and brain
development.
are used in school can also contain
harmful and toxic chemicals that
can affect the health of children, as
well as janitorial staff and school
employees. Asthma is the leading
cause of school absenteeism
and the leading occupational
disease among teachers and
school custodians. The National
Institute of Occupational Safety
and Health attributes 12 percent
of new occupational asthma cases
to cleaning chemical exposures.
A single custodial worker uses,
on average, 194 pounds of
chemicals each year.
It is therefore essential to
consider children’s health in
school environments. Working
with established green cleaning
programs and being informed
about school environments can
significantly impact the health,
learning, productivity, and quality
of life of your children and our
future generations.
A single (school)
custodial worker
uses, on average,
194 pounds
of chemicals
each year.
a xenobiotic, or foreign chemical,
in the body facilitates greater
toxicity and harm.
Indoor air quality may
significantly impact the health
and wellbeing of all inhabitants.
Children, especially those who
may have additional vulnerabilities
such as developmental delays or
intellectual/learning disabilities,
may be more at risk to indoor toxic
exposures. Green cleaning may
be one way to reduce chemical
exposures while maintaining
a clean and healthy indoor
environment. All children deserve
the right to live, play, learn
and sleep in safe and healthy
environments.
Abulafia is the director of
education and outreach for
the American Association
on Intellectual Disabilities’
Environmental Health Initiative.
Children are not
“little adults”, and
therefore using adult
toxicological models
to
assess
safety
of
environmental
toxic exposure is
insufficient. Children
may be at greater
risk of harm from
environmental toxins.
They are generally
exposed at higher
levels than adults,
and
may
absorb
toxins more readily
than adults. Children
also metabolize and
eliminate toxins from
their bodies at different
rates
than
adults,
sometimes more slowly.
Longer residency time of
Schools are our children’s
workplaces. While public sector
employees such as teachers,
janitors, school administrators
and staff often have state-adopted
regulatory bodies protecting
their health in their workplaces,
children in these environments
are not protected. Schools are
often home to many indoor air
problems, high levels of toxic
exposures, and can be harmful to
the health and learning of children
in these environments.
Reducing exposure to pests,
mold, fungus and dust is an
essential part of indoor air health.
However, cleaning products that
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www.mhmraharris.org
ECI families get
day at the museum
“We really enjoyed our day at the museum.
Thank you for everything!” writes the cheerful
mother of one ECI family. The 19 families and
over 115 attendees of the first ECI Family Fun
Day agreed on two things: they had fun, and
they would like to see more events such as this
one take place in the future.
ECI and the Children’s Museum of Houston
partnered through the museum’s Open Doors
program. The museum graciously donates
passes that admit up to six individuals to
agencies who serve families who might not
otherwise be able to visit the museum due to
financial circumstances. ECI is a recipient of
such passes, and staff on the Northwest teams
nominated families to be invited to the event this
summer.
Ashley Jackson, Jessica Hightower, and
Stephanie Coleman, interns from the University
of Houston’s Human Development and Family
Studies department, worked with Ahmad
Hernandez, Children’s Museum’s Manager of
Community Partnerships, Laura Lopez, ECI
Internship Coordinator, and Cyndi Sanchez, ECI
Child Find Coordinator, to organize an event for
these families who live on the northwest side of
town to visit the museum and mingle with one
another.
ECI staff who attended the Family Fun Day
with their own families were pleased to see the
participation of the families that they serve each
day, as well as enjoy the museum themselves.
The collaboration with the Children’s Museum
of Houston has only begun, as Family Fun Days
are already being organized for ECI’s northeast
and southwest teams’ families. ECI hopes to
continue these events to encourage families to
network with one another and enjoy the various
activities that the Children’s Museum has to
offer children and their families.
For more information on the Open Doors
program, please visit www.cmhouston.org.
Camp from page 1
“MacKenzie Cash, a 2009 graduate
of Stratford High, called The Arc of
Greater Houston in May and spoke
with me about Camp Champions (the
Arc’s week). She said she worked with
the Special Education students at her
school on a volunteer basis and knew
of our camp and wanted some of the
students to enjoy a camp experience.
MacKenzie went on to say she had
raised enough money to send four or
five campers. She had raised the money
by just telling everybody what she was
trying to achieve. Through the generosity
of teachers at her school and employees
at her father’s work, she raised enough to
do so. I didn’t have the heart to tell her we
were already full, but after hearing how
she raised the money and the kindness of
her deed, somehow was able to squeeze
the campers in. Three of the five actually
attended the camp this summer. I then
asked her if she would like to be one
of our Lead Counselors this year. She
accepted and has done a remarkable
job,”Kantorczyk said.
hours down to two and we have received
rave reviews for the process,” Kantorczyk
said.
One of the highlights is the open
house for friends and supporters to join
in, tour the site and see the campers. In
progress that day was water sports with
swimming and water slides and finally
culminating in a news-like show with
shout-outs to campers for everything from
getting dressed and out the door on time
to offering a big smile to everyone they
encountered.
“The most impressive thing to me,”
observed one visitor, is that you couldn’t
tell the campers from the volunteers,
all were just there having fun, helping
each other and creating memories of a
lifetime.”
And, isn’t that what camp
is all about?
On site at the camp, operations
are kept running smoothly by Bethanne
Rollins Franco, the Director of Programs
for The Arc of Greater Houston. She says
her job is made much easier because she
has a “staff extraordinaire!” helping her
with the camp.
“The CAMP for
ALL experience lasts
almost a week with
arrival on a Sunday
and pickup on a
Friday, and we’ve
refined the check-in
process, taking it from
cars lined up clear back
from the camp door to
U.S. 290 and taking six
Grants for autism treatment extended for 2 years
Autism from page 2
ABA is the use of behavior analytic methods
and research findings to change socially important
behaviors in meaningful ways.
Since the early 1960s, hundreds of researchers
have documented the effectiveness of ABA principles
and methods for building a wide range of important
skills and reducing problem behavior in individuals
with autism and related disorders of all ages.
“There was just a house bill passed that extended
the ages of the insurance mandate for treatment for
kids with autism covering ABA for kids though the
age of 10 rather than between 3-5 as it was,” said
Christie Enzinna, Board Certified Behavior Analyst,
Texana Behavior Treatment and Training Center.
Since children with autism are not interested
in social interaction, specialists must work to find
the motivation for each child in order to help them
mainstream. Most special education teachers do
not normally take ABA training so when they begin
teaching, the schools are often at a loss as to how to
reach children with autism.
Children with autism don’t pay attention to the
world, and are not motivated by group socialization,”
said Enzinna. “Trying to teach kids with autism is
like pouring water over a closed bottle. In the ABA
Program, children work with board-certified trained
specialists 20 to 40 hours a week. Nearly 50 percent
MHMRA of Harris County
are able to mainstream into public schools.
“We have a specialization program and employ
board-certified people, and we help families with
behavior challenged children with autism. It is a
private pay program that is very expensive. It costs
about $4,000 a month, so only the wealthy can afford
the program.’’
“I hope they will
understand that kids who
get treatment early in life
will not have to be taken
care of by society later on.”
Early childhood intervention for children with
medical conditions is imperative but often the
insurance of these families will run out on a child
when the child is still young, sometimes by the time
he is 5, according to Maria Quintero, Assistant Deputy
Director Mental Retardation Services, MHMRA.
“They often have so many medical needs that
the insurance just runs out while they are so young,
sometimes by the time they are 5, and then what do
they do? They look for alternative plans or become
one of the many without health insurance. We
can help with mental health but not with medical
conditions.”
Autism breakthroughs often come directly from
the parents who advocate for these kids.
“It is the voices of the parents that really count,”
said Quintero. “The advocates have to go out and
advocate for their cause.”
Thanks to the DARS Program, Department of
Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, two years
ago, four two-year grants of $1.25 million each were
given two years ago to help pay for some of the
treatment. The grants have just been continued for
another two years.
“This will help more people to use the ABA
Program paying on a sliding scale,” said Enzinna.
“My hope is that 10 years down the road, we will
have informed the community on the importance of
this program. I hope they will understand that kids
who get treatment early in life will not have to be
taken care of by society later on. We need to get to
these kids before they get into the educational system.
“I have seen such progress from these kids; it is
so personally rewarding. I have had a lot of kids come
back and tell me, ‘We don’t need you anymore.’ ”
“That is the best thing they could say to me.”
www.mhmraharris.org