Shellshocked
So yesterday Bonnie and I spent a good hour and a half in a "wraparound services" meeting with the Mass. Department of Mental Health (DMH).
To bring you up to speed: Following Emme's diagnosis of bipolar disorder and especially after Robert's troubles in school last September, Bonnie and I made a decision to apply for assistance with the Mass. DMH. We felt that with two diagnoses of mental illness in the family that we'd likely qualify for state services, and we were right.
Following a mound of paperwork and an intake meeting, we met with them in mid-December and discussed what we were looking for. It was decided at that point that we'd try to get wraparound services for the family -- services that would provide us with additional support and access to personnel and facilities that are made available to qualifying families through DMH. Yesterday's meeting was to plot out that process.
I won't go into the particulars of what we discussed because it's still at a very formative stage and Bonnie and I haven't decided what we'll pick and choose or what will be a good match for Robert and Emmeline just yet.
But at the end, one of our principle contacts at DMH asked us to assess the meeting. And "shellshocked" is the word I'd use to describe how I felt.
Why? Because of the nine or so people present at the meeting, all of them seemed uniformly interested in helping us and looking after the welfare of our kids. This, after seven years of routinely being shot down for services and assistance through the local school system.
As much as that is a condemnation of just how useless our local schools have been in assisting us, it's to the DMH's credit that even though they're mired in state bureaucracies and inefficiencies, their staff is still genuinely concerned to look out for those people whose welfare they're charged with.
Only time will tell if Bonnie and I are just getting lip service, or if this interest is genuine and will be followed through with action. But so far, so good. And at this stage, that's the most I can ask for.
Comments
Scary when you run into people who actually care eh?
Posted by: Cameron | January 19, 2006 03:07 PM
I realize this is moot, but do you think you would have gotten better services (i.e. not "the runaround") if you didn't live on The Cape?
Hopefully the wraparound services will be of assistance to you and Bonnie (and, of course, Emmeline and Bob). Structure can often be a good thing, and it sounds like this is an opportunity for that structure in your own community rather than in a hospital-based setting.
Posted by: Helen | January 19, 2006 07:58 PM
Each town is run like a fiefdom, so it varies dramatically even here on the Cape.
There's little question though that Barnstable County gets the short end of the stick when it comes to the state's current school funding formula -- a fact it seems everyone knows but that politicians are unable to do anything about.
And that certainly exacerbates problems like this that cost the towns money to solve.
Posted by: flargh | January 19, 2006 08:14 PM