| News
& Views
- Aug, 1992 Issue |
Reflections From Montana
L. Stednitz, Ph.D., Director
Western Youth Network
(800) 328-1877
It has been two months or so
since I relocated to Montana. Aside from missing my good friends
at Capistrano by The Sea Hospital, the move has been a “coming
home” for me. In short, I love it! The beauty, vastness and
fine people make for pleasant days and restful nights.
Having greater opportunity to
be in direct contact with programs in the West has allowed
me the luxury of closer first hand experience at distinguishing
levels of quality and determining more clearly the specific
differences in programs.
This vantage point has crystallized
for me the value of sophisticated and thorough inpatient assessments
of children and adolescents and careful placement. Placement
out of the home is serious business. Unfortunately many placements
are made on a “wing and a prayer”. Except for some highly
qualified Independent Educational Consultants and State Placement
specialists, parents and professionals have little direction
in these crucial decisions.
There are many “common” errors
in placement. Often, Youth are under diagnosed and placed
in programs which lack the sophistication and structure to
successfully treat. In other instances, over stating the child’s
pathology results in a boy or girl being negatively influenced
by a more severe population and paying more for it! In other
instances, youth are placed in poorly funded and poorly organized
programs that result in little or no progress for the child.
The lost hope for a child is tragic, as is the financial cost
to families.
Unfortunately, the worst programs
for a child are often no less expensive! The first needs are
to establish clearly the procedures and practices in assessment,
and to develop networking channels to guide affective decisions.
The Western Youth Network and
Lon Woodbury are currently reviewing these areas. California
Western Youth Network Director, Helen Candas LCSW, is making
great strides in developing effective inpatient assessments
and placements. Lon and I continue to explore ways and services
to link the assessment process to a network of programs which
will serve children and adolescents’ needs effectively.
What new ways are there to maximize
coordination of services? We Welcome your suggestions. Lon
can be reached at 208-267-7717, and the Network by calling
800-328-1877.
Copyright
© 1992, Woodbury Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced
without prior approval if the copyright notice and proper
publication and author attribution accompanies the copy.)
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