Director's Message

May 4, 2007

To: All DHS employees

From: Bruce Goldberg, M.D., Director

"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."
~Andy Warhol

This week, please consider this: The estimated number of Oregon children and adolescents who experience severe mental illness in any given year would fill nearly 3,600 classrooms of 30 students each. Or, put another way, in any 30-student Oregon classroom the odds are good that three or four students in that classroom are experiencing depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or other mental illness.

In fact, psychosis (with symptoms that can include hallucinations, delusions, disordered speech, impaired memory, and loss of attention or ability to function) is more common among youngsters than is insulin-dependent diabetes.

Sadly, Oregon’s ability to serve these children is insufficient. Several months ago I met with a number of parents who had children with severe mental illness. Each one indicated that at some point, in order to get help and treatment, they had to call law enforcement and have their children arrested. This still haunts me.

Unfortunately, DHS and its partners are able to serve just one in three of the estimated 108,000 children and adolescents who need mental health services. We need to do more to serve these youngsters and their families, and May, which is National Mental Health Month, is a good time to talk  about this issue, reflect on the progress we are making in this area, consider what more needs to be done, and to invite you to a rally that takes place next week.

One important action we are taking involves the work of the Statewide Children’s Wraparound Project, which Governor Kulongoski created in support of his commitment to improving the health and well-being of Oregon’s children. The Governor’s decision to establish the Wraparound Project, on which I have the privilege to serve, builds on his earlier creation of the Governor’s Mental Health Task Force.

The Wraparound Project’s purpose is to review and recommend methods for addressing such issues as Oregon’s above-average rate of adolescent suicide, that half of children in the child-welfare system have mental health issues, and that children with mental health disorders are 50 percent more likely to drop out of school. Those recommendations will build on the Children’s Mental Health Change Initiative, through which DHS and its partners already are delivering on promises that include providing more community-based and in-home services, and involving parents more in treatment decisions.

The wraparound approach being pursued by the Governor would create a coordinated and community-based system of mental health care that has been found in other states to result in improved school attendance, better grades, fewer hospitalizations, fewer arrests and a 25 percent increase in parents’ ability to work. In Oregon we already know that adolescents who receive mental health treatment are only a third as likely to be arrested a year after treatment as the year before. Those are impressive results.

And next Tuesday, if you work in Salem, there’s a way you also can help. You can attend the May 8 rally at 11:30 a.m. on the Capitol steps to observe National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. The theme of the rally is “Thriving in the Community.”

The event also includes an 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. barbecue whose proceeds will go to support families and youth. I hope you will join me in buying a lunch.

To provide feedback email: DHS.Directorsoffice@state.or.us

This message is intended for all department employees. Please read it electronically, if possible. Managers and supervisors are asked to share the message each week with employees who do not have email access.