Newswire Press Release: Seniors who become adept at and use a computer appear to have fewer depressive symptoms than those older adults who aren't so technologically connected. That's the finding of a research study, Depression and Social Support Among Older Adult Computer Users, presented August 18 at the 113th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. The data regarding computer use and depressive symptoms was collected as part of the latest wave of an ongoing longitudinal study that is designed to determine the changes over time in physical health, mental health and social activity of older adults living in lower Manhattan. The researchers decided to look into the impact of the growing use of computers by seniors on the hypothesis that those using computers would report fewer depressive symptoms than non-users. In the computer study, it was determined, after controlling for a number of background characteristics, that seniors who were computer users reported significantly fewer depressive symptoms than their counterparts who do not use the computer. Researchers also found that computer users tended to be among the younger members of the study group and have higher annual household incomes, while also reporting higher functioning in activities of daily living than the rest of the seniors in the study group. Future research in this area should include more diverse populations and use other measures of social connectiveness. Participants in the survey included an urban community sample of 206 adults over the age of 65 ( with a mean age of 80 ) that was randomly selected from three zip codes in lower Manhattan.

Battle Creek Enquirer (Battle Creek, MI): Today's teens will tell you that they are under a lot of pressure, and many don't know where to turn for help. So when it comes to coping with the issues that beset them, many simply don't and instead seek out harmful "solutions." "Kids are cutting themselves to relieve stress," said Jordan Swan, a freshman at Pennfield High School. Eric Tsuchiyama, a junior at Lakeview High School, believes teenagers often react in self-destructive ways because they don't know whom to talk to about the everyday pressures. "It seems like kids don't know where to go if they have a problem," Tsuchiyama said. Lakeview School District, stung by the deaths of two students within a two-month period last spring and summer, is trying to do something about that. The Calhoun County Medical Examiner's office ruled one of the deaths a suicide. "Suicide is the most final and negative coping strategy," said Steve Skalka, Lakeview High School principal. "We will focus on positive ways we can all learn to deal with minor and major conflicts in life." As an immediate response, Lakeview established a crisis response team in May after one of the student deaths, holding grief counseling sessions for students. No formal sessions were held this summer after a student death in July, but the district opened up the school this summer for parents and students. Now that a new school year is under way, the high school has embarked on a coordinated response under the umbrella of adolescent health issues, which will focus on positive rather than negative coping strategies. Constructive ways to handle issues of substance abuse, eating disorders, dating, nutrition, among others, will remain a focus during the school year. Counselors will continue to hold small group counseling focused on grief recovery, something it has done for the past two years. Another grief recovery group has been formed for the start of school. A new effort to have counselors more available to students is under way through a counselor lunch outreach program.

North County Times (Los Angeles, CA): USC and UCLA researchers will work with a Los Angeles mental health facility to study treatments for schizophrenia, the facility announced Friday. The National Institute of Mental Health awarded a $3 million, multi-year grant for the project, which aims to improve community mental health programs by quickly moving research findings into a health care setting, according to Portals, a nonprofit mental health facility where the study will be conducted. "By rapidly putting into practice what we learn through clinical research about effective treatment interventions, we are confident that we will be able to enhance resiliency and promote recovery for individuals with schizophrenia," said USC's John Brekke, one of four principal investigators on the project. The team also includes UCLA researcher Robert Kern, and Jana Plasters and Laura Pancake of Portals. "This grant-funded project represents a tremendous opportunity for Portals as we continue to inform our practice through research involvement," said Jim Balla, who heads the 50-year-old nonprofit. "I look forward to sharing the results of this research study with our community mental health partnering agencies." Portals began working with Brekke in 1989, when he, his research staff, and Portals staff looked at how the agency's service delivery affected its members with schizophrenia, a psychotic disorder. Portals has been the study site for three NIMH grant-funded projects headed by Brekke in the past, and more than 30 scientific publications have resulted from this collaborative work. This new study, "Biosocial Factors in Rehabilitation of Schizophrenia," will change Portals' role from a recruitment site for study participants to a community research partner with USC and UCLA, according to the agency.

The following is a press release from the National Mental Health Association. It reads, in part: “We expect Congress in September to consider legislation to reduce federal Medicaid spending and, accordingly, urged that advocates press members of Congress while they are home for the August recess to oppose any changes to Medicaid that will harm those who need support from this vital program. In addition to raising this critical concern over Medicaid, the August recess period may also provide an opportunity -- such as at Town Hall meetings -- to bring up other important pending mental-health issues. We urge advocates to highlight the following messages in meetings or question/answer sessions with Members of Congress: 1) Pass mental health parity legislation: Status: H.R. 1402, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act, introduced by Rep. Jim Ramstad in the House of Representatives would provide for both mental health and substance abuse parity, and has 191 co-sponsors. Parity legislation has not been introduced in the Senate this year. Please urge Members of the House of Representatives to co-sponsor H.R. 1402. 2) Provide initial funding to implement a new law to de-criminalize mental illness. Status: Late last year, Congress passed legislation -- the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (Public Law 108-414) developed by Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Rep. Ted Strickland (D-OH) -- that authorizes up to $50 million annually in Justice Department grants to help states and local communities. These grants would fund collaborative efforts (such as establishing diversion and treatment programs) among the criminal justice, juvenile justice and mental health systems aimed at ending the criminalization of people with mental illnesses. In order for this new initiative to be implemented, Congress must provide funding – which appears promising but not assured -- through the Commerce-Justice-State appropriations act. Grassroots support for such funding would be very helpful. 3) Maintain, and if possible, increase federal funding for needed programs and services for people with or at risk of mental illness. Status: While the process is not over, congressional action on federal funding – bowing to advocacy efforts -- has to date largely rejected the Administration's proposed deep cuts in funding for programs that support people with or at risk of mental illness.� For further details, visit their website at: www.nmha.org/newsroom

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Pittsburgh, PA): A 5-year-old autistic boy died after undergoing a controversial medical treatment in a Butler County doctor's office. Abubakar Nadama, of Monroeville, died at 11:48 a.m. Tuesday at Butler Memorial Hospital after being treated by Dr. Roy E. Kerry at the Advanced Integrative Medicine Center in Portersville. Nadama went into cardiac arrest while he was receiving his third treatment of chelation therapy, Butler County Deputy Coroner Larry Barr said Wednesday. Chelation therapy involves the repeated administration of a synthetic amino acid known as EDTA -- ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid -- which, according to supporters of the practice, removes atherosclerotic plaque and other mineral deposits from the cardiovascular system. "There are those in the alternative medical field who feel that mercury and other toxic elements do contribute to autistic disorder, and that their removal would be a pathway to reducing autism," said Dr. Jonathan Collin, a practitioner of alternative medicine in Washington state. "Chelation for autism is a fraud," said Stephen Barrett, a retired Lehigh County psychiatrist and founder of the Quackwatch Web site. "Many doctors who treat children for autism claim they are suffering from mercury or lead toxicity. There is no sufficient evidence that autism is caused by mercury or lead toxicity."

The Sentinel (Carlisle, PA): Starting this fall, Swartz Counseling Center will only serve freshmen while the McGowan Counseling Center will serve students in grades 10-12. Also, students will be assigned to counselors for three years at the beginning of 10th grade, says Kim Truckenmiller, head counselor and a guidance counselor at Mt. Holly Springs Elementary School. The district decided last year to improve its counseling program after a consultant determined it was "disjointed" and recommended several changes. Kraus recommended the district eliminate barriers between the Swartz and McGowan buildings, noting students had one counselor for grades 9 and 10 and then another for grades 11 and 12. The district plan differs from his suggestion that students have one counselor for all four grades of high school. Staff recommended two counselors at Swartz be assigned to help ninth-graders transition into high school. The remaining students will be divided among the four remaining counselors, Truckenmiller told a handful of parents attending a town meeting this week at Hope Station in Carlisle. She said the idea of the three years is to help counselors foster long-term relationships with students, thus improving their ability to identify and manage student needs. Truckenmiller added plans are under way to change the working hours of counselors to after school to better accommodate students and parents while offering services that could not be scheduled during the school day.

Podcast #4 show notes: Research shows the dropout rate in psychotherapy to be about 50%…what can be done about that? And in Hawaii, were five suicides in the past year connected to the leadership of the state adult mental-health department? Also, do animals REALLY experience psychological and emotional issues? You’ll wanna stay tuned for this. In Baton Rouge, they’re shaking things up with the district's school counseling program. Finally, in my home state of Wisconsin, we’re number one! For what? (listen to the show)

Milwaukee Beacon Journal (Milwaukee, WI): More than one third of all school-age children are experiencing some kind of sleep deprivation. Given this fact, you would think schools would be concerned and alarmed about this phenomenon. However, it is not widely recognized and appreciated just how pervasive and critical sleep quality influences the brain. In an era where parents and school systems are looking for reasons to explain low or poor student performance and achievement as well as a rise in negative behavioral issues, sleep importance is widely overlooked. More and more research studies demonstrate that daytime sleepiness from chronic sleep deprivation and poor-quality sleep has significant affects on daytime behavior as well as concentration, attention and mood. Moreover, even 20 minutes less sleep may significantly affect academic achievement. Insufficient sleep has been associated with not only daytime fatigue but also an inability to concentrate in school, ADHD, dozing in class, problematic behaviors, and lower level social skills. Persistent sleep problems have been associated with learning difficulties throughout the school years. Teenage insomnia has been linked to anger, depression, difficulty with school adjustment and stress. Sleep-disturbed elementary school age children may have poorer coping skills and display more aggressive behavior at home and at school. For the complete article, visit www.milwaukeebeacon.com/sleepdeprivation.html

American School Counselor Association/PRNewswire (Alexandria, VA): A new school year can bring a host of unexpected stresses and challenges, but research shows that a school counselor's involvement in a student's life can make a difference. The school counselor's role is to act as the first line of contact for parents and students for assistance in academic, social, or personal development. Despite this fact, a new survey released today by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) shows that more than one-third of parents report they have had little or no contact with their child's school counselor in the past school year. With students heading back to school across the country, ASCA is encouraging parents to proactively communicate with their child's school counselor at least three times a year to best steer their child's success. Richard Wong, Executive Director of ASCA, said, "By communicating with one another at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year, parents and counselors can have a definite impact on a child's potential." Parents can go to www.SchoolCounselor.org to learn about the various roles and services of school counselors and how to work with school counselors to help their children achieve success.

The Boston Globe: Around the state, teachers say they're often poorly equipped to handle the increasingly complex problems children bring to school every day. Tighter budgets have led to larger class sizes AND CUTS IN COUNSELING as well as other support services. Several cases that grabbed headlines earlier this year underscore the issue. In April, an outburst by a 7-year-old boy with special needs, who was mistakenly placed in the wrong Fall River elementary school, spun so out of control that police used handcuffs to subdue him. Just a few weeks earlier, Florida police shackled a 5-year-old Florida kindergartner after she attacked a teacher and an assistant principal. Upset parents complained that the schools simply didn't know how to handle their children. If parents are looking for assurances that their children's teachers know how to calm an out-of-control child, they may not find comfort in the Bay State. Massachusetts regulations require all staff in publicly funded schools, including charter schools, to receive yearly training in techniques to defuse problem behaviors, but records show that often doesn't happen. ''A lot of times, when there is a discipline problem and it throws the entire class off, there is no support from the parents," Vincenza Sullivan, an active PTO member said. ''A lot of parents are in denial or they're too busy." Providing regular staff training and a crisis team to handle tough cases is key. ''Every school needs this. If you have a student known for hitting or swearing, if you see their anger is going to escalate, you need to know how to stop it right there.

WFMY News "2 Your Health" segment (Greensboro, NC): Someone with a depressive disorder might be persistently sad for weeks. Uni-polar depression describes those who have periodic down times, and bi-polar depression describes those who have alternating periods of high and low moods. Dr. Vaughn McCall, a sleep expert at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center says, "Fortunately most cases of depression are fairly clear cut. The patient's own experience of sadness tells them that something is wrong, but occasionally a depression will be masked as a medical problem; and in those instances folks will go to their family physician most often complaining of vague aches and pains, weakness and tiredness that otherwise doesn't seem to have any physical underpinnings, and that may be mistaken as a physical problem for weeks and months before a physical diagnosis is made." He explains the best treatment as a combination of counseling and medication. For mild depression, counseling may be enough. "The causes of depressive disorders are not known. We assume that early life experiences as well as genetics and familial factors play a role. Some of the obvious things we need to pay attention to are excessive use of alcohol, illegal drugs, spousal abuse and domestic violence. All of these are things that we can potentially prevent or control to some degree." Severe cases of depression where a patient has contemplated suicide, or is unable to work or make a contribution at home usually require treatment with antidepressants.

Toledo Blade (Toledo, OH): Although a grant application for Sylvania's proposed digital academy has been approved, there won't be any funding for it because the state has placed a moratorium on support for digital schools. Assistant Superintendent of Sylvania Schools, Mr. Jackson said he was told by state officials that new charters will require the digital academies be blended with other teaching methods. He said that he pointed out that the grant application said the academy intended to use the assets of the Sylvania system both in teaching AND IN COUNSELING, but to no avail. Grant approval would have meant funding of $150,000 per year for three years to support the academy as it developed. Sylvania school officials said that some children simply don't function well in traditional settings, but often achieve well when challenged in different ways. The Sylvania school was set to open Wednesday. Mr. Jackson said he has contacted those who indicated an interest in enrolling in the school and told them that it won't open as scheduled. It won't be until May that applications will be accepted for the next round of state funding, Mr. Jackson said.

Applications are now being accepted for the American Psychiatric Foundation's (APF) Awards for Advancing Minority Mental Health 2005 program. The program, now in its third year, provides four awards to honor psychiatrists, other mental health providers, mental health programs and other community organizations that increase public awareness of mental health care, increase access to mental health services, and enhance the quality of care for underserved minorities, especially those who suffer from severe mental illness. Psychiatrists, health professionals, mental health programs and organizations are eligible to apply for the awards. All applications must be postmarked by November 1, 2005. Award recipients will be selected by the board of directors of the American Psychiatric Foundation and will be announced in March 2006. Complete award criteria and applications for the awards can be found on the foundation's Web site at http://www.psychfoundation.org or by contacting the foundation at 703-907-8517.

Podcast #3 Shownotes: * Are mental health professional more likely to be stalked than the general public. * Does reparative therapy really work? * In Oregon, the Governor signs a mental health parity law. * Massachusetts considers mandatory counseling for troops. * A Pinellas school bus driver notices some commotion behind her the first week of school. What's the commotion? You'll wanna listen to find out. * Today's intro artist (brought to you through Creative Commons) is Artemis. Enjoy the show!

Los Angeles Times (CA): Stuart A. Kirk, author and professor of social welfare at UCLA says that "psychiatric researchers recently estimated that half of the American population has had or will have a mental disorder at some time in their life. A generation ago, by contrast, only a small percentage of the American population was considered mentally ill." He attributes the higher estimates of mental disorders in part to the American Psychiatric Association, which "keeps adding new disorders and more behaviors" to its psychiatric manual, The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Kirk argued that "[t]he vast broadening of the definition of mental disorders has its skeptics... who spicious of the motivations of the APA and the drug companies that may view the expanding sweep of mental disorders like a lumber company lusting after a redwood forest."

The Daily Nonpareil (IA): The Council Bluffs and Lewis Central School districts will be asking the public to renew their existing instructional support levies on the Sept. 13 ballot. In an era where state dollars are shrinking and budget cuts can happen at any time, an instructional support levy provides a school district with a reliable funding stream. Very few school districts in Iowa do not have voter-approved instructional support levies. Eighty-nine percent, or 325 of Iowa's 367 school districts, have such levies in place. The Lewis Central instructional support levy must be approved every 10 years, while Council Bluffs will be looking to increase the duration between elections from five to 10 years. Should the public fail to renew the levies, officials say they would be harder pressed to meet district needs. Council Bluffs Superintendent Dick Christie said failure to renew the levy would directly affect the district's all-day kindergarten programs AND ELEMENTARY-LEVEL COUNSELING SERVICES, and result in the loss of the $102,000 it receives in state funding because of the existing levy. "We're confident they'll continue to see that need," Christie said, "but ultimately that is left up to the voters."

Here’s a follow-up to an article that appeared in podcast #2. It appeared in the August 14, 2005 edition of The Baltimore Sun (MD): “Deeming the Baltimore school system's special-education program dysfunctional, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. hailed yesterday a federal judge's emergency order giving the state control over an area he vowed to turn around. Ehrlich said the order is not a "takeover" but "a significant step toward additional state intervention." "The bottom line is that the judge recognized the wholesale dysfunctionality of the system, has ordered the state to intervene with respect to special-needs kids, and now the challenge falls to me and the experts we are going to bring in, to deliver the constitutional rights to these kids," Ehrlich said. The comments came in response to U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis' emergency order issued Friday evening. The order was the latest ruling stemming from a 1984 lawsuit filed by advocates for disabled students. At issue were disruptions in providing services, such as speech therapy AND counseling, to 10,000 disabled students over the past school year. This summer, only several hundred out of thousands of students who were supposed to be compensated for the lapses received services. Garbis ruled in favor of the state's $1.4 million plan, which allows it to send eight appointed managers from other school systems, along with a lead administrator, into the city schools headquarters. The city is responsible for paying for the plan, leading teachers to criticize it as another unfunded requirement. "If we don't have funding, we just have more people telling us what to do, and we don't have the resources to follow through," said Marietta English, president of the Baltimore Teachers Union.� What do you think? Feel free to leave a comment.

Although the following isn’t technically a “mental health� story, per se, it DOES affect counselors working in school systems. From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI): The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is investigating allegations that Brown Deer School Superintendent Bruce Connolly lied when he told the state that the district's director of technology had classroom experience required for her job certification. Toni Markiewicz, a citizen activist, has complained to the state that misstating the technology director's credentials in order to get the certification constitutes "immoral conduct" and should be grounds for revoking the licenses for both the superintendent and the technology director, Rebecca Kodet White. White has worked for the district for 13 years as a resource teacher and technology coordinator. She holds a master's degree in computer science education and was recognized in 1992 as the "computer teacher of the year" by the Cooperative Educational Service Agency No. 1, an agency that provides services to the 43 school districts in the metropolitan area. White, who was hired four years before Connolly was named superintendent, was also the first person to be granted an alternate teaching permit by the state. She developed the district's technology program, integrating it into the K-12 curriculum. Alternate teaching permits can be granted to people who hold specialized degrees but have not had traditional educational degrees. Connolly credited White's work for the district as resulting in the area's "premier technology program." In summer 2004, DPI initiated a regulation creating standards for technology directors. One of the standards requires that those who are licensed need three years full-time classroom teaching experience. According to the school district's job description, a minimum of five years of teaching experience is required for the post, as well as a master's degree in educational computing or computer science. Connolly wrote a letter in March 2004, saying that White had 4,320 hours of "face-to-face instructional time" with students from 1992 to 2004. As a result, White was allowed to participate in a University of Wisconsin-Madison workshop needed to meet the state requirements for certification. "The only problem is that she's never spent a minute teaching," she said. "I have yet to find a teacher or a parent who can verify any face-to-face teaching she performed." Connolly declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation. Markiewicz said she checked certification again this year and found a number of licensing problems for the district. Most were corrected quickly. In June, the Brown Deer School Board authorized the board attorney, Michael Aldana, to conduct an investigation. Ken Wagner, the DPI investigator, said he expects to review Aldana's report but said DPI is not bound by the findings. What are your thought on this matter? Sound off.

The following appeared in today’s Houston Chronicle. While I usually don‘t make a habit of reading “Dear Abby,� I found this one to be of great interest. It reads as follows: “Dear Abby: I am a licensed counselor and adjunct faculty member in communications. I hope you will help me get a message out to parents who are sending their children off to college this fall. Every semester, I see kids who have a miserable college experience due to roommate conflicts. Some students become so distracted that their grades suffer, and some actually move back home. A successful college experience requires both academic and social skills. Parents can prepare their children by teaching them the vital social skill of settling differences before they become overwhelming. This will not only help them make their college years successful, but also the rest of their lives. I offer five tips for parents: (1) Offer suggestions, not solutions. Help your children become critical thinkers by imagining scenarios, considering possible outcomes and brainstorming solutions. CONFLICT RESOLUTION IS A SKILL THAT NEEDS TO BE PRACTICED (my emphasis here). Telling your children what to do — or worse, handling the problem for them — does more harm than good because it creates dependency. (2) Prepare for conflict: Teach your child that conflict does not have to be negative; it can also be an opportunity to think creatively. Conflict is inevitable because people are different. Even best friends can have differences in needs, living habits, stress levels and communication skills. (3) Share expectations. The more that's discussed beforehand, the better the relationship. Roommate contracts are popular today, and many universities require them as a way to get kids talking about their expectations. (4) Encourage face-to-face conversations. More and more kids today would rather communicate through e-mail, IM and text-messaging rather than face to face. Without the benefit of facial expressions, tone of voice and body language, messages can be misunderstood. Also, warn kids that gossiping to others instead of talking directly to their roommate ONLY ESCALATES PROBLEMS (again, my emphasis here). (5) Ask for help before the situation becomes critical. Residence life staff will help to mediate, as long as the student has already tried problem-solving face to face. (Unfortunately, too many students wait to mention that there's a problem until they want to move out, or, at the first sign of trouble, they report it to their RA expecting that person to solve it.) Campus counseling centers are also available for help if a roommate is exhibiting signs of mental illness such as depression, substance abuse or cutting. In addition, a counseling session can help your child learn to deal with stress and find better ways to manage the situation." The article ends here. As school counselors, (I’m assuming my core audience IS school counselors) we have a duty to prepare students for college life as well as life in general.

Robertson County Times (TN): A Robertson County high school counselor could seek binding arbitration in the matter of a grievance filed with the Robertson County Education Association over an alleged wrongful transfer to a teaching position in Springfield High School. According to the grievance filed by Jane Redman, formerly a high school counselor at East Robertson High School, it has always been understood that if a teacher is at a school and receives positive evaluations, the principal of the school determines whether or not that teacher stays in the school. Redman alleges that her principal told her she was being transferred, but that he wanted her to stay there. Redman has since been assigned as an English teacher at Springfield High School. She HAS NOT taught high school English in 30 years. At a school board meeting Monday, July 25, Guy Stanley, acting on behalf of the Robertson County Education Association. addressed the board on her behalf. “According to the No Child Left Behind Law, there is no requirement that a guidance counselor be highly qualified,� he said. “But, I would like to point out that there is a requirement that high school English teachers be highly qualified and Ms. Redman is not, as of now, highly qualified for the position she has been assigned to. She is a certified guidance counselor and has received numerous positive evaluations.� Stanley added that Redman would like to either go back to her position at East Robertson or be a school counselor at Springfield High School. However, according to Stanley, the positions have been filled at both schools. “The director of schools has hired a person to fill the guidance position at Springfield High who is approximately 40 years old and has a master's degree, but IS NOT CERTIFIED in high school counseling. Similarly, the person hired to replace Ms. Redman at East Robertson is a new graduate with zero years teaching experience, zero years counseling experience, and NO CERTIFICATION in counseling,� he said. What are your thoughts on this issue? Sound off.

Show notes for podcast #2: * If you have theme music you'd like to submit, feel free to do so. * Is President Bush back peddling on his gang policy? * A timely Back To School article for parents. * More kids out there are getting multiple drugs for their mental ills. * Over in Baltimore, three city schools are facing a lawsuit. * The Indianapolis Star releases the findings of a youth drug and alcohol use study. My Odeo Channel (odeo/67519aaa6a548416)

Sonoma, CA: Sonoma Valley High School took a blow this year from district budget cuts. Although fall sports and extracurricular clubs have been saved, the high school is still operating on fewer cylinders. SVHS has lost a high school counseling position. It has also lost all district funding for the Associated Student Body bookkeeper. The job basically oversees details of "almost every function (for students) other than going to class," said Sonoma Valley High School vice principal Glenn Moll. The computer lab maintenance charge will be $35 rather than $30, and the Associated Student Body charge, which includes a student body card, will cost $20 instead of $10. There is a small break for families with two students or more; it will cost a flat fee of $90 for everything, with all high school siblings included in that sum. "Everyone expects this well-rounded experience (for free)," Moll said. It is a painful transition from the previous generalization of a free public education, he said. "But with the state no longer funding public education (at the level in times past,) those days are over." Now "we are asking parents to cover these expenses for the student," said Moll.

According to the Virgin Islands Daily News, The Education Commissioner Noreen Michael received a copy of the annual report with an order from the Board of Education to address deficiencies and an order to report on the department's progress in correcting the problems. One problem of concern to counselors reading this article deals with providing students confidential counseling services. "Counselors provide individual and group counseling sessions and must do so in environments which respect the confidentiality of student information. This situation was critical at many of the schools visited by the Board including ones where counselors shared wide open spaces which were NOT EVEN PARTITIONED." How do you ensure confidentiality at your site? Feel free to leave a comment on this or other postings.

The family of a University of Northern Iowa student is suing the state of Iowa. That's after Jacob Hawkenson shot himself last July. According to the lawsuit, counselors at the university didn't treat him properly. He went to members of the U.N.I. medical and psychological staff for depression. The suit claims staff members didn't take action to commit him. The suit contends counselors didn't notify anyone outside of the counseling and student health centers about his mental condition. A month later Hawkenson told a counselor he was still depressed. Four days later he killed himself. What policies does your place of employment have for situations such as this? What Code of Ethics should have been followed here? Feel free to post a comment.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Dallas and other North Texas school districts are cutting back school counseling services, moving districts further away from state and national recommendations for student-to-counselor ratios! Students in twelve Dallas elementary schools will have to share six school counselors because district officials have moved ten school counselors to high schools. To make matters worse, the district has NOT notified parents of these changes. In Carroll schools, for example, budget cuts in spring 2004 reduced school counseling services to part time at the district's five elementary and two intermediate campuses. The cuts left school counselors dividing their time among schools, leaving campuses without much needed services some days. These reductions couldn't come at a worse time, said Sadie Woodard, president of the Texas Counseling Association. "School counselors are needed more today than perhaps they ever have been before," she said. "If a student comes to see the counselors and the counselor isn't there, where do they turn?" said Ms. Woodard, who is associate superintendent for guidance counseling and special services for the Houston-area Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District. "Instead of turning to responsible adults, they turn to each other." Pat Melton, executive director of guidance and counseling for Arlington schools, agreed. "Society has changed, and we have more volatile situations," she said. A lack of counseling services can be potentially harmful to students, who face many more challenges at younger ages than past generations, said Ms. Woodard. And when students are dealing with eating disorders, suicidal thoughts and teen pregnancy, the consequences can be heightened. "We have so many social issues the students are facing. Many of them are falling through the cracks because they have no one to turn to give them guidance." What are your thought on this issue?

In Texas, Marble Falls Independent School District allows for corporal punishment and also is state-mandated to have a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP). MFISD Superintendent Ryder Warren said corporal punishment is a sensitive subject and merely a way to modify behavior in school. According to Warren, "We publish all of the discipline management tools we use in our handbooks every year, and parents/guardians must sign acknowledgment forms. These forms are kept in the students' files at their campuses. On the acknowledgment form, we have a space available for parents to request alternative forms of discipline besides corporal punishment." According to Warren, the corporal punishment policy applies to ALL GRADE LEVELS, but not to all students. What do you think about this technique? Do you think they're handling things the wrong way?

Welcome to G News Central Podcast! I'm brand new to this thing called podcasting, and I'm really excited to be trying it out. I've been on the other side of it for some time now, and thought I'd give it a go myself. A bit about myself and my podcast. I'm a school counselor here in Wisconsin. I love counseling and I love working with computers. Some podcasts I listen to include: TWiT, Diggnation, The MacCast, KFI Airchecks (w/Leo LaPorte), podCast 411, Security Now!, The Educational Mac, Hot Springs Jazzfest, Lost River Music Project, Red Raspus Radio and Jazzin Around. In my spare time, I attempt to maintain the website I built Mr. D's Guidance and Technology Home Page. If the audio sounds a bit rough in my first few podcasts, please forgive me...I'm new at this and learning how to edit as I go along. Enjoy! Stories in the first podcast include: * Are Tom Cruise's latests comments negatively affecting the mental health community? * We will take a look at the latest suicide stats in the American Indian community and compare them to the national average. * What do you do if the anti-depressant you are taking doesn't work? * In Wisconsin, the Dept. of Public Instruction released the results of the 3rd Grade Reading Test. * Love in Action International is at it again in Tennessee. * Are dogs beneficial in the therapy environment? * In Virginia, are high school counselors being put out of business? * California parents are fed up with bullying and take action. * We'll wrap things up in North Carolina where they're looking to add more mental health services to the schools. I'm looking to add some theme music to the podcast. If you have any you'd like to submit, feel free to do so.