Page 19 - Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens - October '23

Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens, Page 19
Senator Harrell And Rep. Roth Present $300,000
In State Funding To Center For Child Counseling
Meeting The Mental Health
Crisis And Staffing Frontline
Responders
The data is alarming: In 2021, 41.5 percent of Palm
Beach County high school students reported that they felt
hopeless, and 20.7 percent of total high school students
seriously contemplated suicide (Palm Beach County
Youth Behavioral Health Survey). Florida Senator Gayle
Harrell (District 31) and Florida Rep. Rick Roth (District
94) presented a check for $300,000 to the Center for Child
Counseling (CFCC) on Friday, Sept. 8, in response to the
children’s mental health crisis. applaud the efforts of what Center for Child Counseling is
In conjunction with the check presentation, there was a
2024
Information regarding
ticket on-sale dates, pricing, and
available packages will be
announced at a later date.
Florida Senator Gayle Harrell and lobbyist Matt Spritz
doing to help children and families.
Left to right: Florida Rep. Rick Roth, Florida Senator Gayle
Harrell, CEO of Center for Child Counseling Renée Layman,
discussion related to how the appropriations will be used to
and lobbyist Matt Spritz stand with $300,000 check presented
to the center to help with the children’s mental health crisis.
mitigate the crisis. The center serves around 7,000 children
and families each year in Palm Beach County, and there is
still a waitlist. The funding will directly address the extreme
backlog of 800 children on average waiting for services from
the center. The project will build a department of frontline
responders – mental health and program specialists – to
immediately support children and adolescents waiting for care
right now. The approach also focuses on building caregiver
and community capacity to support children’s mental health.
According to the center’s CEO Renée Layman, “No child
in crisis belongs on a waitlist when a parent or caregiver
has reached out for help.”
With this funding, mental health and program specialists will
provide immediate triage and care for the children and families
waiting for services from Center for Child Counseling.
In Senator Harrell’s address to the more than 20 mental health
specialists and staff in the room, she emphasized the work the
State of Florida is doing with respect to the resources allocated to
our schools but recognized that the need of addressing children’s
mental health extends beyond the schools.
“I think early intervention is absolutely the key, and the
way to go. We need more mental health counselors. We need
more therapists who are really frontline. We need therapists to
do treatment and that is essential,” stated Senator Harrell.
One in four children in Florida is experiencing a mental
health or behavioral concern. “It is crucial that we address this
crisis, for the immediate and long-term well-being and resilience
of Florida’s children and families,” added Layman.
The center has transformed the approach to mental health
care using a public health framework of prevention, early
intervention, and treatment to address the current crisis and
build capacity for the future. It includes tiered implementation
of services that prevent adverse childhood experiences, provide
early intervention to mitigate mental health concerns and
trauma, and support children and families in crisis. Services
are provided where children, adolescents, and families need
them most – in-person (office, school, home, and community
based) and virtual activities including: mental health support
groups and education; one to one mental health consultation
for parents and adult caregivers; and a campaign to educate the
wider community on how to support children’s mental health
and resilience. Prevention services include community and
statewide education for parents and adult caregivers on specific
mental health topics to build the ability of all adults to support
children’s mental health and well-being.
Layman expressed her gratitude to both Senator Harrell
and Rep. Roth, “We are so proud of this and so grateful to
you for making this happen. This is a big dream that you’re
making a reality; so, thank you. For the kids that we’re
serving, it means everything.”
Senator Harrell is the chair of the Senate Appropriations
Committee on Health and Human Services and Rep. Roth
is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
About Center For Child Counseling
Since 1999, Center for Child Counseling has been building
the foundation for playful, healthful, and hopeful living for
children and families in Palm Beach County. Its services focus
on preventing and healing the effects of adverse experiences and
toxic stress on children, promoting resiliency and healthy family,
school, and community relationships. For more information, visit
centerforchildcounseling.org., Twitter at ChildCounselPBC,
Facebook at CenterforChildCounseling and Instagram at
childcounselpbc.
Photos by Tracey Benson Photography