Testimony Before the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs
Theresa Brown
Westbrook, Maine
prepared for release on July 15, 2003

Introduction & Background
Chairman Collins, Senator Lieberman, esteemed members of this committee – I am honored by the opportunity to speak with you today regarding the tragic situation that has been created for my family merely because of our desperate search for mental health services for my daughter. I am nervous and I am talking with you about the most important and emotional thing in my life – please be patient with me if there are moments when I must breathe. My name is Theresa Brown – without my daughter, I exist in Westbrook, Maine.

Relinquishing custody of my daughter was not part of a birth dream, but soon became life’s nightmare. My daughter is now 16.

When she was 6, my struggle to find appropriate and effective services were met with suggestions that I take a parenting class on “hard to manage children” and rely on school counselors (who are only available at school and responsible for hundreds of children). I now realize that it was NOT my child who was “hard to manage”, but a disorganized and undeveloped system that did not provide resources that could meet her needs in our community.

When the system can’t meet the needs of its children, it reflects its failures like a mirror on the faces of their parents and families. Our skills are questioned; our motives are questioned; we are blamed. In my eagerness to do everything I possibly could, we were also shamed.

By 5th grade Heather had experienced countless visits to crisis units. Ineffective and missing services paved the way to police intervention – she assaulted her peers. I watched her life spinning out of control with terror and a broken heart. Feeling as though we were drowning, I desperately grasped at each weak thread offered to us as though it was our lifeline. The police (who are not mental health treatment providers) suggested that I send my daughter to live with her Dad in Mississippi. Needless to say, her return trip followed soon because her symptoms continued to escalate.

Part of the problem for our children with mental health needs is that we don’t teach them to LIVE in our communities or provide them the supports they need to do that – we teach them how to LEAVE. When their “behavior” looks bad, we send them away. We send them to friends - to relatives - to programs – to institutions. They are kicked out of schools – excluded from normal activities – and isolated from reality. We teach them that they are not acceptable or worthy of a loving environment. Systems break what bonds they have left. When they are failed by systems, systems make them believe they failed! And so they sometimes do -

By age 12, my daughter’s life was further complicated by the fact that she was sexually acting out, using alcohol and other drugs and carving her body. Her pain, confusion and frustration came home to the person who loved her the most – she assaulted me. Police intervention led to hospitalization and more assessments. I knew she needed help, not punishment. After 6 years of struggling to find and access appropriate services I was told that the only option for keeping her safe was residential treatment. This would come with a price tag of ultimate human sacrifice – custody relinquishment. In order to get her the service that she needed, I would have to refuse to take her home from the hospital. I had to tell my daughter that I would not take her home! September 27, 1999 was the most devastating day of my life. I had been told that no crisis bed was available – yet ,as though by magic, one appeared as soon as I complied.

What would you do? What price would you pay? What treatment for other medical conditions in this great country comes with such a prescription?

Psychologists did not want to label my daughter with bi-polar at age 9. Instead they waited all those years and she got lots of other labels: "Delinquent," "Addict," "Promiscuous," "Violent," "Runaway."

Consequences
Within weeks, Heather was placed in an unsuccessful residential program that REFUSED to honor a court order to
¨ work toward reunification
¨ allow visitation with me
The following year, Heather entered another residential program and attended public school
¨ The program ignored my requests to include drug and alcohol treatment
¨ Heather needed a Special Ed label in order to access specific therapies – she did NOT qualify due to past educational achievement, though her grades were FAILING at the time!
¨ Behaviors at school, residential program and home continued to spiral downward
14 months into the residential program
¨ Heather assaulted a staff member, resulting in assault charges
¨ The assault immediately resulted in a Special Ed label with an emotional (not academic) basis!
¨ Heather began to ‘give up’ thinking that she would ever be able to return home to live

When staff in treatment facilities are unable to provide the promised mental health treatment, their back up becomes the police. Instead of increasing the capacity of their mental health service delivery they often view emotional symptoms as behavioral issues and propel youth into the criminal justice system. Our children at this crucial pivotal moment are no longer consumers of the mental health system, they are now viewed as delinquents in the juvenile justice system – often without treatment for their mental health disorders. I felt like we were going backwards – they were now doing what I had needed to resort to!

In May of 2002- Heather ran away (she was visiting home and due to return to residential treatment when she ran)
¨ She received an immediate discharge from the program with NO transition services – including school!
¨ DHS had no placement available & sent her home without supports or treatment
¨ I requested follow-up in home services, supports and counseling during the transition that would allow Heather to successfully live at home
DHS did not follow up with services saying they didn’t know if Heather would remain at home

In June 2002 – I arranged for counseling for her myself - there was a 1 month wait - without any supports
¨ Heather broke a window, acted out, used alcohol and other drugs
¨ Criminal charges resulted
¨ Heather ran away, was picked up by police and sent to the Maine Youth Center for 3 days and was released to DHS – who had done NOTHING to help find her when she was missing.
June 2002 - DHS has no placement available, charges were dropped, Heather was sent home to me
¨ NO services and NO supports accompanied her

In July 2002 – She stole my car, was charged with possession of a schedule Y drug and was again released to me! Within 30 minutes she ran away again – She was sent to the Maine Youth Center again.

Heather went to a hearing for the pending assault charges on staff. Hearing resulted in assault & drug charges dropped. She took a plea bargain of guilty on criminal mischief charges & was placed on 1 year’s probation.
August 2002 – she was sent to a locked behavioral treatment facility
For the first time she began to receive treatment for both mental health and substance abuse issues.

I have “jumped through the hoops” and I continue to ask DHS what else I can do to get my daughter back --- with no clear plan and to no avail. Heather is now in a locked facility and is on probation 3 ½ years after ‘treatment in exchange for custody’ – where are their outcomes? The new DHS goal for Heather is independent living – NOT reunification. Is that what you would want for your daughter? A DHS worker told Heather during a treatment meeting that she can get an apartment soon and “if you stay with us we will send you to college”. Do we know many 16 year olds who don’t want that offer?

DHS defines jeopardy in this case as my inability to pay for services. Recent documents indicate that jeopardy been reduced or eliminated. A January 2002 legal summary states “the role of the Department at this time is primarily as a funding source and an advocate for (name) to continue to receive services for her special needs.” 1 ½ years after this statement, I still do not have custody of my daughter!

What Are the Issues Related to Custody Relinquishment
1. Worst of all, I am no longer her “parent” and am not treated like I am. I have been guaranteed inclusion, but been excluded.
2. Broken promises to me resulted in broken promises to my daughter
3. My relationship with my daughter has been damaged because court mandated rights to visit and be involved have been arbitrarily ignored by case workers and members of my daughter’s treatment team
4. Custody causes emotional trauma for youth and their families
5. My daughter has been cut off from her natural supports and isolated from her family
6. Heather does not have a quality of life that includes human touch, a range of emotions, special relationships, family celebrations, family supports and love, lasting friendships or simply participating fully in life as a 16 year old girl
7. Heather is deemed to be jeopardy because I can’t afford her services, yet DHS has now ordered me to pay child support!
8. Custody relinquishment devalues and undermines the importance of the family unit & the role it plays in society
9. I have become the “place of last resort” when placements aren’t successful or law enforcement is involved – sending her home with no supports allows her to fail at home and allows me to be blamed
10. When I express any concerns regarding her treatment I am viewed as having aggressive behavior
11. Funds used for ongoing court processes, DHS services, Case workers, foster care, permanency placement, etc. could be better used to simply fund the services we need, when and where we need them
12. Once custody has been relinquished, it appears impossible to get your child back home, no matter what you do.

I have yearned for the opportunity to see her jump rope with her friends; to take her shopping to go to the prom; to complain because her hair was pink or that she left the cap off the toothpaste; to be kept up all night by giggling girls at a pajama party; to know that my favorite sweater might be residing in her closet or to find my much loved CD missing. Unlike most parents, I have missed the stories of her school day, her date, or her summer job. I cannot console her when her day has been difficult or celebrate with her when it has been great.

In the past few months YOU have seen as much of my daughter as I have!

I appreciate your dedication to this important issue and applaud your efforts. I implore you to change what is happening for children and youth with mental health issues and their families. The human cost is far too great to continue. The financial incentives seem to be just reversed – families should have the resources and services early on. It just seems wrong that there is a federal draw down for states for permanency placement when families want to be permanent – We must stop putting a dollar sign or price tag on the heads of our kids. Let’s not fool ourselves; OUR KIDS ARE PAYING WITH THEIR LIVES. I wish you the strength and wisdom to continue this effort, because I cannot do it alone.