As a near neighbor of people in Montana, I am excited to talk about how the science of adversity is creating real opportunities for change. I have the privilege of working with leaders in Montana already acting in your communities to address ACEs and childhood trauma. Montana is at an exciting point to use the ideas of adversity and childhood trauma to build practical solutions but it will take all of you working together to make this real. That’s why I think Elevate Montana is such a significant opportunity. It is a chance for you all together to start the conversation and leave understanding real steps you can take.  I am looking forward to being with you and sharing what we have been learning in Spokane and across Washington about practical steps grounded in science. We can reduce trauma and begin to address adverse childhood experiences as one of the most significant public health problems facing our children and communities.

Chris

Christopher Blodgett, Ph.D., Director
Area Health Education Center of Eastern Washington/CLEAR Trauma Center
Washington State University

In a recent report called Achieving The American Dream, released by The Burghard Group (strengtheningbrandamerica.com), Montana ranks as the #1 state in which to live the “American Dream’. You can get a copy of the report here.

To this, I say, Really?

Maybe we are the #1 state in which to live the American Dream… in the opinion of some.

Maybe we are the #1 state for entrepreneurs (according to a Montana State government website).

Maybe we are one of the nation’s best kept secrets, and stand above all other states for “Badasses” according to a Buzzfeed article.

If Montana is the #1 state in which to live the American Dream — whatever that means — you may have a hard time convincing the children who live here.

KidsCount, a national and statewide non-partisan, non-political non-profit just released some other rankings Montana holds you may be interested in:

Montana ranks #28 in overall child well-being. You can see the article here. Now, perhaps you think that’s not too bad. Heck, that might even sound pretty good to you… just below the middle. But if I told you that we’ve looked at your child or grandchild and he or she ranks below average in well-being, how would you feel about that? I know that it would bother me! I want my children to be at the top when it comes to child well-being, don’t you? We should not be okay with our state ranking below average.

But here’s a kicker… in that same report, Montana ranks dead last when it comes to child health! The worst in the nation in this broad category… for two years in a row!

Unacceptable!

There are other numbers we need to be aware of, as well… like the State of Montana has one of the highest rates of teen suicide in the nation, and that 20% of Montana’s children live below the poverty line. Do you know what constitutes the Federal Poverty level for 2013? For a family of four it is an annual income of only $23,550! Try feeding your family of four on that! And in Montana, twenty-percent of our children are living in families that make less than that!

We need to elevate the well-being of Montana’s children. And when we do that, we will elevate the future of those children, and thus, elevate the future of this great state!

ChildWise Institute is doing something about the well-being of Montana’s children, and we want you to join us.

We are starting an initiative… a movement… called Elevate Montana; elevating the well-being and future of Montana’s children. We’re starting by presenting The ACE Study Summit on September 26th and 27th in Helena, Montana.

The ACE Study (Adverse Childhood Experiences Study) is a scientific study directly linking adverse childhood experiences to negative health and social outcomes in adulthood. It was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and Kaiser Permanente. The implications are staggering, but the motivation for change is inspiring! Elevate Montana’s ACE Study Summit is intended to inform, inspire, and motivate community and state leaders toward actions that will reduce adverse childhood experiences in today’s children so they may become healthier adults, which will result in a healthier Montana.

Perhaps we may one day truly be a state in which living the American Dream is possible
… even for its children.

Stay tuned and check back with us frequently as we begin the movement of positive change for our children!

Todd Garrison
Executive Director – Curator
ChildWise Institute

Coming to Helena, MT
David Mee-Lee, M.D.

4/21/13

It will be twelve years since I first visited Helena to provide training on the Patient Placement Criteria of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) in June 2001.  A lot has happened in 12 years.  Since the current edition published that year, there will be a new edition of The ASAM Criteria out in October and the new edition from the American Psychiatric Association, DSM-5.

But what is more important is how the behavioral health field has moved towards integrated treatment for people with co-occurring mental and substance-related conditions.  Time was when clients would be shunted back and forth between addiction and mental health services: “No, you can’t be admitted here in mental health until you are 30 days sober.”  Or: “Sorry, we don’t take people who have suicidal thoughts or are on those medications.  You have to take care of your mental health problems first before you are ready to get into addiction recovery.”

We’ve come a long way in treating people holistically instead of having them drop through the cracks……or have we?  Well, when I come to the ChildWise Institute Spring Conference on Co-Occurring Disorders, I look forward to seeing how far the Helena area and Montana overall has come in helping youth with co-occurring disorders (COD).  Perhaps my keynote presentation on May 10, “Co-Occurring Disorders in Youth: Building Bridges in Assessment and Treatment” will be a helpful review for those who are well along in integrated COD services.  Or maybe for those still getting there, I will have a few suggestions that can jumpstart your work.

Then in the workshop I will do on “Engaging Adolescents in Client-Directed, Accountable Treatment: Skills to Help Youth Change”, we’ll have a good time looking at new ways to think about “resistance” and how to engage and attract people into recovery. If you are coming to the conference (and of course you should) bring some challenging clinical vignettes and we’ll see if we can help you engage your client a little better.

So I am looking forward to getting back to Helena and hope to see you at the conference. We’ll bounce around a few ideas together and see if we can find ways to serve youth with co-occurring disorders even better.

Brief Bio

David Mee-Lee, M.D. is a board-certified psychiatrist, and is certified by the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM). He trains and consults both nationally and internationally.  Dr. Mee-Lee is Chief Editor of The ASAM Criteria and is Senior Vice President of The Change Companies. Dr. Mee-Lee has over thirty years’ experience in person centered treatment and program development for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions.

If I was the getaway driver, and my partners-in-crime went into the bank and someone got killed in the process, I AM CULPABLE. I mean, I knew we were there to rob a bank. I knew my partners had guns. I knew there was a risk that someone would get hurt. I knew it! I’m culpable.

Well, often when a child is put into a potentially dangerous situation, there’s a “getaway driver”. Someone knew they were leaving the child with a person that has hurt the child before. Someone knew they were taking the child into a crack house or meth lab. Someone knew a child needed medical care but was too focused on their own need to smoke some pot or have another beer. Someone knew the driver of the car is intoxicated or high, yet they allowed their child to ride in the car anyway.

There is often a getaway driver when it comes to a child being abuse or neglect by a person other than themselves. When that child suffers because of that abuse or neglect; when that child is hurt or killed, shouldn’t they be held accountable?

There is a Bill currently in our legislative session that needs your attention. Senate Bill 160. You can read it here.

Senate Bill #160 provides an act creating the offense of criminal child endangerment if a person purposely, knowingly, or negligently causes substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to a child under 14 years of age.

I just testified at the Hearing today in support of this important Bill, and I hope you’ll join us by calling or emailing our legislators.

Many good questions were asked by the Committee, helping to clarify situations that may come into play in cases of child endangerment,. Situations such as a mother at risk of bodily harm herself in a domestic dispute, causing her to leave her child in the care of a dangerous person (husband or boyfriend, for example). A question was brought up about a religious choice not to seek medical care for a child. In answering both of these questions (and others regarding the specifics of the Bill), Attorney Parker — who helped author the Bill — provided satisfactory answers, assuring that an injustice would not occur in those situations, and that existing law provides protection in those types of situations.

This is a good Bill, and will go further in protecting our children. Please call or email your legislators and encourage them to support this Bill #160. The Committee members are as follows, and you can email each one of them by clicking here.

Kerns, Krayton (R – Ch)
Bennett, Jerry (R – V Ch)
MacDonald, Margie (D – V Ch)
Blasdel, Mark (R)
Court, Virginia (D)
Doane, Alan (R)
Eck, Jenny (D)
Fiscus, Clayton (R)
Gursky, Jenifer (D)
Halvorson, David (R)
Hill, Ellie Boldman (D)
Laszloffy, Sarah (R)
Lenz, Dennis (R)
Lynch, Ryan (D)
O’Neil, Jerry (R)
Pease-Lopez, Carolyn (D)
Regier, Keith (R)
Smith, Bridget (D)
Wagoner, Kirk (R)
Warburton, Wendy (R

Your message may simply be something like this:

Dear (Senator/Representative) ______________, I’m writing/calling you today because I care about our children. We need to dissuade people from endangering young children, and we need to hold those people accountable that do endanger our children. Please support Senate Bill No. 160. Show us that you care about our children as much as we do.

Thank you for your selfless and hard work in making Montana a better place to live.

Respectfully,

_______________________