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15 <br /> Our evidence suggests that RePlace is well regarded by professionals in Lexington, <br />but that it is utilized as a referral resource by Clarke Middle School primarily, as well as <br />by some physicians and counselors, but not by Lexington High School or Diamond Middle <br />School. <br /> Solo practitioners, mental health practitioners within the agencies, and others we <br />contacted in the course of this project concur generally that Lexington, with all of its <br />abundance of helping talent, displays a serious lack of services for adolescents. There is <br />also a lack of collaborative coordination between the solo practitioners and between <br />professionals within Lexington High School and these practitioners.. <br /> This has been a study of mental health service providers and their knowledge and <br />views. We do not have direct evidence of a shortage of mental health assistance for <br />Lexington youth, only the conviction of providers and counselors to this effect. It could be <br />argued, for instance, that adolescents appear to be “managing” their lives in Lexington <br />rather well now, if the criteria used were youth suicides and incidents of violence. We do <br />not subscribe to this argument in the light of what we have learned from our interviews, <br />but more evidence is needed. <br /> We could also ask about the standard that should be used in gauging the extent to <br />which public agencies and especially local government should manage the need for mental <br />health services. We would note that the new state parity law equating mental illness and <br />emotional distress with physical illness and injuries places mental health on a footing <br />identical to that given public health concerns of all kinds. Our view, in addition to <br />supporting the existing commitments of the Commonwealth, is that it is strongly in the self- <br />interest of Lexington’s governmental leadership to monitor and foster the availability of <br />mental health services. <br />6. RECOMMENDATIONS <br /> The challenge facing this study project has been to arrive at recommendations to the <br />Board of Selectmen that do not contradict that body’s urgent quest for ways in which to <br /> <br />