The Ottawa County Intermediate School District recently received a $2.4 million Michigan Department of Health and Human Services grant to put a doctor’s office in one school. The Child and Adolescent Health Centers Grant (CAHC grant) is for primary care, nursing, and behavioral health services. Students will have access to clinical services, referrals, health education, and immunization as well as confidential mental health counseling.
Schools are increasingly incorporating programs that address student mental health and behavior. Schools are moving away from traditional academics as they incorporate more Social Emotional Learning (SEL), trauma training, and mental health counseling into their programs. Meanwhile student academic test scores are decreasing. As citizens we must ask ourselves what is the true goal of the Child and Adolescent Healthcare Program? We already have a medical establishment with its Medicaid outreach to impoverished families. Why provide large amounts of funding to public schools to duplicate existing medical services? How will this increase the effectiveness of education?
This article attempts to explain the Child and Adolescent Health Centers (CAHC) Program and how it will result in schools moving even further from traditional academics as the state intertwines education and health services.
There are three delivery models within the CAHC Program:
CAHC: Child and Adolescent Health Centers cover full clinical and alternative clinical services
SWP: School Wellness Program covers nursing services and mental health services
E3: Expanding, Enhancing Emotional Health, covers mental health services
Ottawa County currently offers none of these services, however the E3 delivery model is offered at Muskegon’s Covenant House Academy, Muskegon Heights Academy, and Oakview Elementary as shown in the table below. The CAHC grant will enable one Ottawa County School to incorporate the top delivery model. The school has not yet been selected.
The Child and Adolescent Health Centers Program Overview shows the focus on the following areas of care in marginalized populations.
Child and Adolescent Health Centers focus on the most vulnerable children in society. This program targets children who typically come from families with a lower level of parental involvement and families that may be considered dysfunctional. Once these health programs make inroads into the education system, it will be easier for them to expand the programs to include more stable families.
The slides above mention promoting youth self-advocacy as a healthcare consumer. This statement should set off alarm bells for parental rights advocates. If youth are advocating for themselves in a medical setting, what is the role of the parent?
Another red flag is the Comprehensive Risk Assessment used in CAHCs. This assessment is a survey that tracks physical, lifestyle, social, developmental, and emotional data on children such as oral care, family relationships, bullying, weight, and blood pressure. How will the state use the personal data of our youth? Will the state use this data to influence youth behavior?
Part of the CAHC program involves prevention of suicide, a growing problem among our youth. Ottawa County has been instructing schools to implement gender-affirming behaviors to reduce teen suicide through the Pride in Diversity program.
The CAHC Preventing Suicide Toolkit for Schools instructs schools on how to handle suicide situations. Chapter 3 (p.92) instructs school personnel what to do after a suicide occurs.
The toolkit includes suicide form letters (p. 101) to send to families and talking points for media announcements when teen suicides occur.
Vaccination is another CAHC topic. Rather than informing people on the benefits and drawbacks of different vaccinations, one purpose of CAHC is to “proactively remind clients” to get vaccinated. CAHC suggests pushing articles in Health Center newsletters, using automated calling systems to remind parents of immunizations, advertising at summer community events, and advertising on Facebook; basically, promoting vaccinations ad nauseam.
The CAHC Proactive Reminders Packet encourages schools to constantly reach out to parents, reminding them to get their children vaccinated. Here is another slide showing how they push vaccinations.
According to their website, CAHC is working to incorporate trauma-informed care practices in their health centers and host schools. They incorporate suicide prevention services and treatment for the LGBTQ population. The education system currently implements trauma-informed practices, addressing LGBTQ and suicide issues.
I don’t know about you, but I see a multitude of potential problems with incorporating health care centers into schools. Parents’ rights are being by-passed as the state forcibly takes over parental duties.
All of this has transpired slowly over time, and now the proposed solution is to blend the medical and education systems? The more medical care blends with education, the easier it will be for government to usurp parental rights.
Under Michigan Law, parents already need permission from minor children before they can access their children’s medical records. With medical facilities inside schools, schools will be able to provide select medical services to kids without parents’ knowledge. In the future, a child could potentially receive hormone therapy, immunizations, and possibly abortions, all at school with a parent being wiser.
The OAISD “won” this grant, so now one lucky school will take another expanding step into full government control. As a community, we must stop accepting state and federal dollars earmarked for education. They come with strings that remove local control and degrade academics. We need to restore local control of education.