2006-02-06 Youth Services in Lexington Report

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Youth Services In Lexington Report to the Board of Selectmen February 6, 2006 "Solo practitioners, mental health practitioners within the agencies, and others we contacted in the course of this project concur generally that Lexington, with all of its abundance of helping talent, displays a serious lack of services for adolescents There is also a lack of collaborative coordination between the solo practitioners and between professionals within Lexington High School and these practitioners... " MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS: A REPORT TO THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN The Human Services Committee, December 2002 Introduction and History Prior to the effects of the failed 2003 Override, the Town of Lexington contracted for many years with Replace (which became Wayside Replace) to provide services to high -risk youth in Lexington. Through collaboration with Lexington Public School administrators, and at a cost to the town of $74,087, Replace provided the community with these services: • Clinic based counseling - For individuals, families and groups. Issues included development of social skills, substance abuse, racism, academic motivation, bullying, anger management, family problems, self - esteem, grief and addressing risky behavior. • Outreach Counseling & Community support - For issues such as suicide, child abuse, runaways and other family conflicts. • Prevention services - Including information and referral and development of a student outreach program for issues such as substance abuse, bullying, community violence and general positive health promotion. In response to the loss of Replace, the Human Services Committee made a recommendation for a task force to be convened under the guidance of Selectman Bill Kennedy, to review services and gaps in services. The group determined that there were a wide variety of services in the community, but they lacked overall coordination. The goal, as defined by the task force, was to develop a continuum of services for youth and their families, building on what is working well, and filling identified gaps in services. The task for emphasized the need for strong and continued communication and collaboration among the schools, police and social services personnel as well as outreach to community agencies and committees focused on youth and family services. To achieve this goal, the task force recommended (1) the development of the Youth Services Council, (2) the creation of a youth services clinician position, (3) the creation of a fund, to be administered by the Department of Social Services, that would allow youth without insurance coverage to access services from local practitioners, and (4) the reinstatement of the School Resource Officer position at the Senior High School.