Worth Noting Most School Districts Lack Plans for Closures in Epidemics A survey of public school districts by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that an estimated 56 percent of all districts have made no provision for continuing student education in the event of an extended school closure, though federal health officials have warned that the first precautionary step to be taken if an influenza epidemic is suspected will be to close schools. The GAO also found that while many or most districts have made some plans for coping with emergencies such as school shootings, very few have involved community partners in developing or updating those plans, and most are not training with first responders in how to implement the plans. Challenges school district officials say they experience in planning for emergencies include the difficulty of communicating and coordinating with parents and first responders, though not with students; lack of equipment and training for staff; and lack of personnel in the school system who have expertise in the area of emergency planning. The following information appeared during the month of May 2007 in the News Alerts section of the website of the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools, at www.healthinschools.org. May 9, 2007 Two bills introduced in the United States Senate May 8 call attention to the need for school-based and other mental health services to children. The Mental Health in Schools Act, S. 1332, notes that of the 95,000 public schools in the United States, only half report having formal partnerships with community mental health providers to deliver mental health services, though recent studies indicate one in five children has a diagnosable mental disorder and one in ten children has an emotional or behavioral disorders that is severe enough to cause substantial impairment in functioning at school or in the community. "Our schools are important settings for recognizing and addressing children's mental disorders. In fact, schools often function as the de facto mental health system for children and adolescents," said bill sponsor Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), who said the Mental Health in Schools Act is intended to "assist local communities in developing comprehensive school mental health programs that provide a continuum of services for students." A second bill introduced May 8, S. 3337, would amend the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to prohibit limits on mental health care in SCHIP plans by directing that mental health or substance abuse services must be no more restrictive than the financial requirements or treatment limits that apply to other medical services. "America's kids who are covered through SCHIP should be guaranteed that the mental health benefits they receive are just as comprehensive as those for medical and surgical care," said bill sponsor Senator John Kerry (D-MA). The bills can be read and tracked at website http://thomas.loc.gov. May 16, 2007 Bills introduced in the U.S. House and Senate yesterday would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to authorize federal funds for "full-service community schools," which are defined as schools that provide services, which could include health care, at school sites, in cooperation with community agencies. Introduced in the Senate by Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson (D) and in the House by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the bills list services that could be funded in community schools as including early childhood programs; literacy and reading programs for youths and families; parenting education activities; community service; job training and career counseling; nutrition services; primary health and dental care; and preventive mental health and treatment services. Bill sponsor Senator Nelson said the bills would "establish an important grant program" with resources directed to community needs such as public health. Priority for funds would go to grantees that serve at least two schools in which at least 40 percent of the children are from low-income families. The Full-Service Community Schools Act of 2007 is S. 1391 in the Senate and H.R. 2323 in the House. The bills can be read and tracked at http://thomas.loc.gov. Vaccines typically work by mimicking the effects of natural exposure to a specific microbe, which stimulates the immune system to recognize that microbe and protect the human body from it if it reappears. But current HIV vaccine candidates are not working that way, said top scientists at the National Institutes of Health. Instead, it appears now that the HIV vaccine candidates developed so far simply reduce HIV levels in the body, thereby delaying the progression to AIDS and the need to start antiretroviral drugs, but not completely protecting against the virus. In a review article in the May 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Anthony Fauci and Margaret Johnston, who head HIV/AIDS research in the National Institutes of Health, noted that scientists have been thwarted in their efforts to develop a fully protective vaccine against HIV by the fact that the virus "is unusually well equipped to elude immune defenses." They explain that when HIV enters the body, it infects the crucial T-cells that would normally mediate an immune response, and from them spreads throughout the body, establishing HIV reservoirs in lymphatic tissue. Currently, several vaccines that induce primarily T-cell responses are in human clinical trials, but researchers are continuing to search for a vaccine that would actually produce antibodies and thereby prevent the establishment of HIV infection. "Clearing the virus before cells become latently infected remains the goal," Fauci and Johnston said. They noted, however, that there may be public health benefits from current vaccine candidates that appear to reduce viral levels in the body of someone infected with HIV, which may hold off progression to AIDS and make it less likely that an infected person will pass HIV on to others. The article, "An HIV Vaccine—Evolving Concepts," appears in the May 17, 2007, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. May 21, 2007 The United States Supreme Court ruled today that parents may prosecute an IDEA claim in federal court on their own behalf and without hiring a lawyer, in cases involving disputes between parents and a school system on what constitutes free, appropriate public education for a child with disabilities. The Supreme Court thereby overruled a lower federal court that had denied an IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) complaint brought by parents of a child with autism spectrum disorder. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit had held that the IDEA does not abrogate a common law rule prohibiting non-lawyer parents from representing minor children, but the Supreme Court found that the IDEA protects both parents and children, thereby giving parents "independent, enforceable rights," including the right to prosecute IDEA claims on their own behalf." The case was Winkelman v. Parma City School District. The Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today that it is awarding a $207,000 grant to an Austin, Texas organization, the Medical Institute for Sexual Health, to develop an online program that will train abstinence education providers in "methods to access medically accurate sexual health information via the internet." Today's notice indicates that "Participants will learn to identify credible internet sources for sexual health information, efficiently and effectively search the internet, and answer most questions on sexual health topics." The notice points out that the single-source grant to the Medical Institute for Sexual Health is within the congressional directive that 5 percent of funds appropriated for abstinence education should be used for "technical assistance and capacity building." The announcement comes as Congress is expected to debate whether to continue federal funding for abstinence education in the coming 2008 appropriations bill. The grant announcement appeared in the May 22, 2007, issue of the Federal Register online, at wais.access.gpo.gov. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) said today that judging by the number of adolescents admitted for treatment of substance abuse disorders, girls are increasingly using drugs, including alcohol and inhalants, and are more likely than boys to have co-occuring psychiatric disorders. "As we continue to work on reducing youth drug use overall, we must pay special attention to the needs of teen girls," sad SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline. "Because research shows that girls use alcohol and drugs to boost their confidence, reduce tension, and cope with problems, our prevention efforts must address those needs." Marijuana was listed as the primary substance of abuse for 51 percent of female admissions for treatment and 72 percent of male admissions, and while alcohol and inhalants ranked second and third, respectively, for both boys and girls, these substances were more likely to the primary substances of abuse for girls. Cocaine, opiates, and other drugs accounted for about 14 percent of admissions for girls and 8 percent for boys. Psychiatric problems in addition to substance abuse problems were reported in 23 percent of the female admissions, compared with 18 percent of male admissions. The commonest referral for treatment for both sexes was the juvenile justice system, but admissions in which the client was referred by an individual such as a family member were more common for girls than for boys. The SAMHSA data are from the 2005 Adolescent Treatment Admissions by Gender, an annual compilation of data on demographic characteristics and substance abuse problems of persons admitted for treatment at facilities that receive public funding. The report is available on the web at http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k7/youthTX/youthTX.cfm. |
