The fundamental flaws outlined in the SAMHSA report from the November site visit are not addressed in the Yakima County Response/plan of action; it is the proverbial elephant in the room. Ignoring it will bury the true positive potential of the children and families who have yet to be invited to the table in what is supposed to be an effort lead by them. Yakima County received a grant to fund a COMMUNITY DRIVEN Mental Health REFORM project. The children and families who are to directly benefit are intended to be at the center of this project, with the parents and caretakers driving the systemic changes necessary to more effectively serve the needs of youth with a high level of need in this community.
Yakima County Human Services Department has historically failed the children and families in this community. In my son's case, well over $1 million dollars of inappropriate, ineffective and ultimately disabling care, was paid for by with Federal Medicaid and Child Welfare funds; at times this 'care' was forced upon without my son's or my consent or approval. Much of it was fraudulently billed to the Federal Medicaid program. Inappropriate, unethical care including dangerous neuroleptic, or 'antipsychotic' drugs which were not approved; and not tested for safety or efficacy for use on children, by son was used as a human guinea pig. Teratogenic drugs were forced on my traumatized son; in spite of my vehement protests. I was told I had 'no say' by the Medical Director of Child Study and Treatment Center, Jon McClellan, who claimed I had no say because my son was a ward of the State of Washington. State Law then and now states a parent's right to make medical decisions for a child are not diminished or altered.
These drugs are known to cause the very conditions my son now has; conditions which have disabled him. Neither my son nor I were warned of these risks. My once normal, brilliant son is now cognitively, physically and neurologically impaired. To say I am still outraged, is putting it mildly. I protested to no avail. In effect, the State of Washington local Child Welfare office 'legally kidnapped' my son; claiming he needed to become a State Ward in order to continue having his mental health care paid for by Medicaid. This was patently false; and it was in fact illegal. It is fraud. My son's eligibility for Medicaid was never at risk; he had been on Medicaid and SSI for over five years, due to severe PTSD by the time this claim was made...
However, what was done to my son, is not the issue. The issue is the children and their families who need help now. These children and their families are the reason I continue to speak up. I do not want any child to experience what my son has endured. I want families to know there is hope, there is help, and that they are supposed to be directing the mental health care provided to and for their children and families.
These drugs are known to cause the very conditions my son now has; conditions which have disabled him. Neither my son nor I were warned of these risks. My once normal, brilliant son is now cognitively, physically and neurologically impaired. To say I am still outraged, is putting it mildly. I protested to no avail. In effect, the State of Washington local Child Welfare office 'legally kidnapped' my son; claiming he needed to become a State Ward in order to continue having his mental health care paid for by Medicaid. This was patently false; and it was in fact illegal. It is fraud. My son's eligibility for Medicaid was never at risk; he had been on Medicaid and SSI for over five years, due to severe PTSD by the time this claim was made...
However, what was done to my son, is not the issue. The issue is the children and their families who need help now. These children and their families are the reason I continue to speak up. I do not want any child to experience what my son has endured. I want families to know there is hope, there is help, and that they are supposed to be directing the mental health care provided to and for their children and families.
The fundamental failure is that families have not been invited to the table. The community's children and families who should be included, and who need to be leading this opportunity are unaware of the opportunity which is intentionally being denied to them. In over three years since Yakima County received the grant, it has been in the local paper, the Yakima Herald, two times. This project does not "belong" to the people who work for Yakima County, or to Central Washington Comprehensive Mental Health, the two entities who have been directing the project thus far... The grant should be recognized as belonging to the children who need the care they are not getting; and to their families who are without hope of getting the help they desperately need for their children with emotional and behavioral difficulties. When looked at from this perspective, it is impossible not to recognize the enormity of the ongoing deprivation and loss.
here is the site visit report from SAMHSA
QUARTERLY MEETING NOTICES
Posted on March 28, 2012
GOVERNANCE BOARD meetings are held every 2nd Tuesday of each month from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Children’s Village, 3801 Kern Road, Yakima, WA . Refreshment and childcare are provided. Please RSVP at 574-2977 Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. to insure adequate childcare provider to child ratio and sufficient food are available, and if there is a need for interpreting services.
The next scheduled meetings are:
April 10, 2012
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May 8, 2012
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June 12, 2012
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FAMILY VOICE meetings are held the 1st Thursday of each month from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Children’s Village, 3801 Kern Road, Yakima, WA. Refreshment and childcare are provided. Please RSVP at 574-2977 Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. to insure adequate childcare provider to child ratio and sufficient food are available, and if there is a need for interpreting services.
The next scheduled meetings are:
April 5, 2012
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May 3, 2012
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June 7, 2012
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Youth for Community Growth Teens Reviving Equality for Everyone (YCG T.R.E.E.) youth meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of every month from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the System of Care office located in the Liberty Building, 32 N. 3rd Street, Suite 410, Yakima, WA. Refreshment is provided. Please RSVP at 574-2977 Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. to insure an adequate quantity of food is available, and if there is a need for interpreting services.
The next scheduled meetings are:
April 1, 2012
April 15, 2012
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May 6, 2012
May 20, 2012
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June 3, 2012
June 17, 2012
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Cultural & Linguistics Competence Team meetings are held the 1st Wednesday of each month from 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. and will rotate meeting locations (see below). Please RSVP at 574-2977 Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. if there is a need for interpreting services.
The next scheduled meetings are:
April 4, 2012
Washington State
Migrant Council
1100 S. 4th Street
Sunnyside, WA 98944
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May 2, 2012
Yakima Valley Farm Worker
Toppenish Medical Center
Tom Cerna Boardroom
518 West First Street
Toppenish, WA 98948
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June 6, 2012
System of Care office
32 N. 3rd Street, Suite 410
Yakima, WA 98901
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1 comment:
The TVSOC continues to circle the drain. Things are even worse since the "reforms" & YakCo is afraid - nay terrified - that they are going to have to return ALL the grant money due to the massive waste and fraud since its inception. Stay tuned, this could get interesting. :)
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