Mental Health Initiative Supports LEUSD Parents, Kids

Three year’s ago, when Kyle Sugimura’s preschooler began hitting other children and “saying every cuss word in the book,” the now single-dad says he knew he had to do something to change his young son’s behavior.

“He was acting out so bad,” Sugimura said.

He found help through free parenting classes offered by the county. According to Sugimura, his young son is now 8 years old, doesn’t get into fights anymore and is a stellar student in the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program.

“Using tools, I learned how to become a better parent,” Sugimura said of his classroom experience.

Sugimura was on hand Tuesday morning at Heald Academy in Lake Elsinore to share his story with a small group of reporters, Lake Elsinore Unified School District officials, and county public health officials who had gathered to learn more about the launch of a new county public education campaign, “Growing Healthy Minds.”

The campaign kicked off the education component of a $10.9 million initiative that began in March 2010. The program, which is funded by First 5 Riverside, addresses the mental health needs of the county’s estimated 165,000 children who are ages 0 through 5.

First 5 Riverside, a division of the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services, is funded by Proposition 10 tobacco tax revenues and was established by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors in 1999.

“The timing of this (launch) is just right,” said Veronica Hilton, interim health administrator with First 5 Riverside, explaining that the holidays can be an extremely stressful time for parents and young children.

Hilton told the crowd that an estimated 20 percent of children in the 0 to 5 year age range develop mental health issues, but few very receive treatment.

The behavioral problems continue, she said, and can carry over into later years.

“Seventy-five to 80 percent of children and youth in need of mental health services do not receive them,” she said.

Heading off problems early on is of great interest to the Lake Elsinore Unified School District.

Tuesday’s launch coincided with a joint Riverside County Department of Mental Health and Lake Elsinore Unified School District parenting-classes graduation ceremony held at Heald Academy. The district in collaboration with the department of mental health is offering the free classes at the Academy as part of the initiative. The classes are designed to better equip parents with tools they need to deal with behavioral issues in their children.

“LEUSD values the commitment of First 5 Riverside,” said LEUSD Health Administrator Freida Brands, noting that school readiness is “more than just education and test scores.”

Children with behavioral problems can be disruptive, and can potentially harm themselves and others. Early mental health care helps prevent “severe problems later on,” Brands said.

Dustin Texeira is with the Riverside County Department of Mental Health’s Set 4 School program, which is funded by First 5 Riverside. He said that when it comes to mental health issues in children, he often laments, “I wish we could have gotten to the families earlier.

“We can identify problems so early,” he continued.

Agnieszka Podgorska and her husband immigrated to the United States from Poland. They settled in Wildomar, but their young son, Ben, developed behavioral problems stemming from language issues.

“He would run out,” she said, explaining that he was running away in frustration.

“We speak Polish at home,” she continued. The first-time parents turned to free speech therapy classes offered by the LEUSD when Ben was just 3. One year later, Podgorska said she and her husband are finding much greater parenting success.

“When I finished the program, I almost cried,” she said.

Parenting classes are being offered at Heald Academy and other LEUSD school sites. Additionally, the program offers mobile support through a small fleet of buses equipped to serve as mini counseling offices.

All Riverside County parents or legal guardians with young children are eligible to participate in the program.

For more information, call 800-266-3880 or visit www.rccfc.org.