Mental Checks Need Closer Look : County officials should speed up evaluations of troubled students

When students act up in school, teachers, counselors and psychologists do all they can to find out what’s wrong and try to solve the problem. But when it’s determined that a youngster needs more help and requires a mental health assessment, the job falls to Orange County, where too often these days there is an overly lengthy waiting list.

The state requires that county officials give students mental health evaluations quickly enough that an individualized instruction program can be drawn up within 50 days. But teachers and school administrators say some students in Orange County are waiting twice that time before receiving the education plans.

The state needs to take a closer look at Orange County and see if it can help, preferably with enough additional funding to hire more workers for the program. In too many areas, the state and federal governments impose requirements without providing enough funding to satisfy the rules.

But Orange County supervisors also should take a closer look at the problem. The Children and Youth Mental Health Services division within the Health Care Agency conducts the mental health assessments. The Health Care Agency has asked the supervisors to hire 20 additional employees and to add more psychiatrists on a contract basis. The supervisors are likely to consider the request next month when they vote on the county’s budget.

Teachers and administrators say the division does a good job but is understaffed. Also needed are counselors who can speak Spanish and Vietnamese.

Children requiring the mental health assessments can be withdrawn and depressed, unwilling to communicate with other students or teachers. Some students can be overly aggressive. State and federal laws, and fairness, require that they be helped to get an education. Sometimes counseling and treatment are enough to get them back into a regular classroom. Other times, placement in private special-education schools is required.

Getting to the root of the problem quickly is important. Students will not get the help they need while languishing on waiting lists for three or four months. Meeting the state standards should be the minimum goal for the county.