Sandy Hook: 2000$ for each kid

here is a letter i found on Sandy Hook school website:


January 2, 2013
Dear Parents,
As we return to school many questions are being raised about the mental health supports that are being made available to Sandy Hook students, parents and staff. The School Department has been working closely with the State Departments of Education (SDE), Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to determine the best way to address the mental health needs of our school community. We have consulted national experts who unfortunately have been involved in similar tragedies around the country. They have advised us that we need an immediate plan that focuses on assisting students and staff to return to school and a long range plan that evaluates the traumatic impacts and offers trauma specific treatment to address those individuals that have lasting impacts from this tragedy.
The school will use a team of mental health professionals comprised of staff from the DMHAS and DCF and private providers they work with. The mental health teams will provide a short-term response, most likely from two to four weeks that is directed at supporting our return to an educational mission. These staff are part of a statewide network developed to rapidly respond to disasters and have been trained in Psychological First Aid, an intervention developed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. These organizations have tailored this approach to include a manual for its use in schools. The intervention offers practical advice, stabilization techniques, information about coping strategies and linkage to other support services if needed. While the approach is therapeutic and has been found to support recovery it is not therapy.
A primary goal of this intervention is to promote recovery and relieve distress by re-establishing routines while drawing upon natural support networks. Our desire to return to school is supported by these organizations. Schools are where children typically spend the largest part of their day. They receive much needed support from teachers and staff members and it is often the center of the child’s natural support system, their friends. Re-establishing routines following any disaster has been found to promote resiliency while also reducing the negative effects of a tragedy like that which occurred in our school. We all find safety and predictability in our routines and children are no different.
Some parents have suggested that we must immediately initiate trauma treatment for all students and staff. This is simply not indicated at this time. Symptoms and behaviors that your children may be displaying are to be expected in a situation like this. These acute reactions, while troubling, may diminish over time as a sense of safety and routine is restored. Our short-term plan will focus on helping students and staff with these acute stress reactions. For some individuals, it may become readily apparent that they require more focused counseling support and our mental health team may provide you with referral information if you have not already done so.

Our long-range plan will focus on identifying and supporting those students and staff that experience lasting effects from this trauma. The School Department, in collaboration with our state agency partners, is exploring funding for a comprehensive long-term program to support the mental health needs of our school community. Programs that have been established following similar events have had common components including screening of all students and staff, trauma specific counseling, and parent and teacher support and education. Interestingly, these screenings often did not occur until several months or more had elapsed following a tragedy in order to better identify those individuals that were experiencing more lasting effects. Trauma specific training has typically been provided to private therapists and community mental health providers in order to strengthen community capacity to address trauma. It is our expectation that we will be applying for funding to develop a similar program.
You are the most important resource as we begin this recovery process. It is our hope that you have prepared your children to resume school by providing simple, factual information about this tragedy and why we will be in a new school. Children often mirror your reactions so it is important to model calm and control. I encourage you to maintain family routines and draw upon your own support network as you try to take care of yourself. A return to normal community activities, while difficult, helps promote healing. While we have never encountered a tragedy like this, it is important to remember that we have all successfully used coping strategies in our past to deal with adverse life events.
I apologize for the length of his letter but I wanted to provide you with a comprehensive overview of our plan to address the mental health needs of our community. Counselors will be available to meet with parents in the school auditorium in the coming weeks and private space has been set aside to deal with parents, children, and teachers. Our mental health support teams will offer small group parent meetings and we are planning more formal presentations that will occur in the coming weeks. The counselors will also provide information to families regarding $2,000 in counseling funds that are being made available by the State’s Office of Victim Services to all children who were at Sandy Hook on December 14th. This information and other mental health resources or fact sheets will be posted on our school website. I appreciate your support as we begin the healing process.
Sincerely,
Janet Robinson, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools



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