The Darien Times

Student crises growing: Darien officials urge help to deal with rising demand

Last Updated on Friday, February 03, 2012 11:57 AM Written by David DesRoches
Monday, January 30, 2012 10:51 AM

UPDATE: See below for appended information.

A Darien student sits in a jail cell, doing homework under the watchful eye of corrections officers. Another Darien kid threatens suicide, overwhelmed with problems at home or school.

These are a few of the cases that have passed through Robin Pavia's office over the last few months. As director of the Darien Schools' special education department, Pavia has been on the front lines of what some would call a crisis situation among youth.

"The number of students and families in crisis has grown radically in two years," Pavia told the Board of Education at its Jan. 18 meeting. "I see this is our greatest challenge in the district."

Pavia wants the schools to do more. She's asking the Board of Ed to hire a social worker and psychologist to take over much of the work that's being done by an already overtaxed department. Both jobs would cost $140,000, and would give the schools a total of 9.8 full-time-equivalent staff psychologists, and 3 social workers.

"This is, I'm begging you, our absolute greatest need," Pavia said.

In addition to the jailed student, four others are receiving treatment in 12-step substance abuse programs. "I never thought I'd say this in Darien," Pavia said.

Help from the state is minimal and sometimes non-existent. The Department of Children & Families handles the welfare of children in need of foster care or other special placements, but Pavia said it is "dysfunctional," and "not providing the support they should be providing."

She related a story about a suicidal child that required state assistance, but she kept hearing from state employees that there wasn't enough money to help. "I kept saying, 'It's going to happen,'" she said. "I will do what ever it takes."

After a call to the attorney general's office, the Department of Children & Families finally responded. The response, however, included a statement that claimed the attorney general had nothing to do with the agency's sudden attention to her dilemma, Pavia said.

The department's Stamford office deferred comment to the Hartford headquarters. The state agency has a long history of failure to meet needs, and has existed under federal oversight for more than 20 years after a class action lawsuit challenged the state's capacity to help children and families in crisis.

Susan Kinsman, communications director at the attorney general's office, told The Times that no attorneys recalled having a conversation with Pavia, but "that doesn't mean someone didn't call here and was referred."

"It is not unusual for our office to be called by a parent or to get a letter complaining that a local school district is not providing special ed services a child may need," Kinsman wrote in an email. "The calls are referred to the appropriate agency, such as the state Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education, which then steps in to help get the matter resolved."

Once the referral is made to the proper agency, the attorney general's office is no longer involved, Kinsman added.

Department of Children & Families Spokesman Gary Kleebatt said he had no knowledge of the attorney general's involvement with the department, but he told The Times that the department's 17 offices throughout the state help 36,000 children on any given day, and answer 90,000 phone calls per year, with 40,000 related to abuse and neglect.

"It's also true, that there are kinds of services that we need more of," Kleebatt said. "We do need more community-based services, and we're working to enhance those."

Not alone

The increase in social service needs isn't restricted to Darien, said Carlene Wood, assistant director of secondary special education in Darien. Wood said she's contacted a number of area schools that reported similar trends.

"I don't think we're alone with what's happening, which is not great news for society right now," Wood said. "Many affluent districts in our area are struggling with these kids... There is no pattern. It's a multitude of things. I can tell you we're looking very closely at what's happening."

The unfortunate reality, Wood said, is that no child is safe from an emotional or psychological breakdown. "When we look at their records, they're good kids, but over the weekend they've been hospitalized," she said. "What is the district's response to that going to be?"

These incidents carry ripple effects throughout the school, affecting everyone because of the conspicuous nature of many breakdowns. "These are not children with cognitive or learning disabilities," Pavia said, clarifying traditional dogma. "These are children in crisis."

Wood added that the school is often the last line of support to help these children, when "everything else in their lives are so debilitating."

"I realize there are budget constraints," Wood said, "but we very much need this support to maintain the integrity of this program that we service."

The money for these positions is included in the special education budget, although the service includes mostly general education students. The school board is considering moving that money to another account to more accurately reflect expenses, if the positions are approved.

The social worker would serve as the point person at the elementary level, Pavia said, and the psychologist would split time between the middle and high schools. Last year's request for these positions was slashed during budget negotiations, but that request indicated the need was directed toward helping teachers, whereas this year's need is directed at the rising need for student crisis intervention.

Elementary principals Rita Ferri and Mary Michelson attested to the rising need at the school board's Jan. 17 meeting. "Some of the families with whom we are dealing, some have serious needs for intervention," Ferri said. "A school's administrative psychologists are devoting an inordinate amount of time to handling these situations."

Social workers work more with outreach and with other organizations, whereas the psychologist works more on a clinical and individual level. The networks that social workers keep make them especially suited to handle the rising demand, Michelson said.

The board mulled the idea of having the social worker employed by the town, but school officials remained interested in keeping the position at the schools. Assistant Superintendent Matt Byrnes said the school environment is one of the only stable social structures in many children's lives, giving it the responsibility to intervene if necessary. Problems in the home are normally only recognized if it manifests itself in a child's behavior.

The need could be exacerbated because of the state's inability to meet its responsibilities, which seem unlikely to be mitigated any time soon, Pavia said. Her department is not meeting its legal obligation to report problems with children because of inadequate staffing and a dysfunctional state agency that is not doing its job.

Pavia and her team are mandated to report certain problems with children within 24 hours, but she said at times she has waited hours on hold with the state and was prevented from fulfilling her obligation. "I can't reach them. What do I do? I'm worried about these children's safety," she said.

Former state Supreme Court Justice Joette Katz took over the helm at the Department of Children and Families last January, and was determined to improve the agency enough within one year to shed federal supervision. One year later, the $894 million department has made strides, although much work remains to be done, according to a 2011 quarterly report drafted by a court monitor to oversee the department's progress.

But when the phone rings in Carleen Wood's office, she's not worried about budgets and dollars and an inept state system. "I look at my phone and I get nervous about what's going to be on those messages," she said.

UPDATE: In this article, The Darien Times references the state Department of Children & Families (DCF) when it should have been the state Department of Developmental Services (DDS). Elements of this story would be significantly changed if the organization name were changed, so it has been left in its original form. 

ddesroches@darientimes.com

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