The Special Education Perspective

1
The Special Education Perspective

• Healthy Generations Videoconference
• November 18, 2004
• Cindy Shevlin-Woodcock,
• Interagency/Mental Health Specialist
• Minnesota Department of Education

2
December 1, 2003 Child Count for Students Ages
5-18
Special Education Population 104,676 General
Education Population 812,802
3
Risk for Mental Health Disorders Increases for
Children Who Have

• Physical problems/chronic illness
• Intellectual disabilities/cognitive impairments
• Low birth weight, prenatal exposure to alcohol,
  drugs, and tobacco
• Family history of mental or addictive disorders
• Multigenerational poverty/deprivation
• Caregiver separation
• Neglect or abuse/stressful unsatisfactory
  relationships
• Exposure to traumatic events
• Child Mental Health Foundations and Agencies
  Network (2000)
• National Advisory Mental Health Council (1990)

4
Prevalence Among Children and Youth with
Developmental Problems

• Strong indicators that children with
  developmental problems may have up to 4 times the
  likelihood of having a concurrent mental health
  diagnosis.
• Crnic, et. al., 2004

5
Use of Mental Health Services Among Children with
Disabilities

• Only 2 in 5 disabled children with poor
  psychosocial adjustment receive mental health
  services.
• The school setting is one in which barriers to
  mental health services are reduced.
• Children with disabilities with poor psychosocial
  adjustment were four times as likely to receive
  mental health counseling in the special education
  setting.
• Race/ethnicity barriers were also reduced in the
  school setting
• Coordination of services was correlated with
  increased likelihood of access to and use of
  mental health care.
• Witt et.al., 2003

6
Minnesota System of Interagency Coordination
(MnSIC)http//www.mnsic.org

• It is the policy of the state to
• develop and implement
• a coordinated
• multidisciplinary service system
• for children ages birth to 21
• with disabilities.
• Minn Stat 125A.023

7
Minnesota System of Interagency Coordination
(MnSIC)

• Minnesota Departments of Education, Minnesota
  Department of Human Services, Minnesota
  Department of Corrections, Human Rights,
  Employment and Economic Development
  (Rehabilitation Services and State Services for
  the Blind), Commerce and Health

8
Coordinated InteragencySystem

• For Each Child who has a Disability
• An interagency intervention service system
• That coordinates services and programs
• Required in state and federal law
• An Individual Interagency Intervention Plan
  (IIIP)
• planning process and document.

9
Coordinated InteragencySystem

• Target Population
• Children, youth and their families
• Ages birth to 21
• Services from 2 or more agencies
• Disability as defined by MN Statutes 125A.02
  (Special Education)

10
Coordination of Services

• Individual Child/Youth
• Service Coordination
• Case Management
• Care Coordination
• System
• Interagency Agreement
• System Components
• Leadership

11
The WIT ProjectStrategic Plan September 2003

• What It Takes
• Improving Access to and Coordination of Mental
  Health Services for Children and Youth with
  Disabilities, Birth through 21
• http//education.state.mn.us/html/into_speced_ment
  al_hlth.htm

12

• Vision
•  
• Minnesota children with disabilities and their
  families have access to a coordinated system of
  mental health services in order to improve
  educational and social outcomes.
•  

13
Cindy Shevlin-WoodcockInteragency/Mental Health
Specialist

• Minnesota Department of Education
• 651.582.8656
• cindy.shevlin-woodcock_at_state.mn.us
• Web site http//education.state.mn.us/html/into_
  speced_mental_hlth.htm

14
References

• Minnesota Department of Education, Special
  Education. Unduplicated child count reports,
  December 2003. Retrieved September 27, 2004 from
  http//education.state.mn.us/content/064498.pdf
• Crnic, K., Hoffman, C.,Gaze,C., Edelbrock.,C.,
  Understanding the Emergence of Behavior Problems
  in Young Children with Developmental Delays.
  Infants and Young Children, 2004, Vol. 17, No.3,
  pp.223-235.
• Witt W, Kasper J, Riley A. Mental health services
  use among school-aged children with disabilities
  The role of sociodemographics, functional
  limitations, family burdens and care
  coordination. Health Services Research 2003386
  Pt 1)1441-1466.
• Overview of MNSiC. Retrieved September 27, 2004
  from http//www.mnsic.org/overview.html
• Minnesota Department of Education. The WIT
  Project Strategic Plan, September 2003. Retrieved
  September 27, 2004 from http//education.state.mn.
  us/content/077389.pdf