On the January evening when the superintendent introduced staff from Generations Family Health Center, the nonprofit health care group that provides services on campus, guests visited the Zoom screen with smiles on their faces. .
The plan is for licensed therapists from Generations to work in a space on the third floor of the school. Students may be referred by a teacher or family member, or may come in on their own, and therapy sessions will be scheduled during school hours. Therapists will bill for insurance on a sliding fee scale, using federal funds if necessary, so the school will not charge a fee and the family will not incur a small, if applicable, fee.
Then a chill filled the room as the board members began asking them questions. The visitor’s smile faded.
Will they advise students on contraception or abortion? (They will not give medical advice, but can discuss if it comes up.) If children are referred and do not want therapy, are they forced to do so? (No.) Is the student seen as being treated, mocked and discriminated against by peers? (Hopefully not.) Can they receive therapy without their parents knowing about it?
Imagine, yes, is the answer. By law, clinicians in Connecticut can provide six sessions of mental health treatment for minors without parental consent under certain narrow circumstances – if the minor is seeking treatment, this is considered clinically necessary and if the parental notification requirement would preclude the child receiving minors.
This provision is rarely used; Michael Morrill, a Putnam school board member, said that in the nearby town of Putnam, which has hosted a mental health clinic at the school for nine years, treating hundreds of students, there were no children yet. treated without parental consent.
But it’s an important bottom line for Norm Ferron, one of the Killingly board members, who says the deal will “give students greater access to counseling without the need for approval.” parents, and I don’t really care about that.”
