The Silence Has Been Deafening

HealthinSchools Roundtable

The Silence Has Been Deafening

by jglear

04/20/2011 2:30 PM

The silence has been deafening. For 25 years children's health at school has received increasing attention from health professionals and the general public in no small part due to the efforts of the CDC Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH). It was DASH that initiated surveys of student behavior and documented school health policies and programs at the state, local, and federal levels. Without these surveys and related projects, we’d know little about what is happening at the ground level in school health. It didn’t happen before and there is no guarantee that it will happen when DASH is gone. This useful agency is being dismantled and, as far as we know, none of its supporters have gone on public record opposing this action. To be sure, we’ve been distracted by the budget controversies and the desire not to offend the leadership of a powerful agency – but, enough is enough. It’s past time to speak out.

Here’s how CDC officials describe the re-organization in a recently posted Q & A on the DASH web site:

• “DASH’s non-HIV-related school health programs and activities would be housed in a new NCCDPHP division that includes other chronic disease prevention programs.

• DASH’s HIV prevention activities would be shifted to CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP).”

Those of you who have been around for awhile know that one of the reasons children’s school health programs were given their own space is that they did not fair well when they competed with programs that targeted the diseases and problems of older persons. Now the funds that were assured for children’s health at school will face increasingly long odds of being sustained.

Have you heard about this issue? Are your organizations speaking out?

Click here to learn more about Julia Graham Lear and
the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools

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Comments (3)

Comments

04/20/2011

I had not heard that it was happening for sure, and am very disappointed! I would love to sign our organization on to some sort of letter or petition against this action. Do you know of any resource for this. I think the lack of response can also be attributed to how "under siege" many aspects of the adolescent health community are feeling right now; it feels a bit overwhelming. What are your thoughts about the lack of reaction?

Robin Kirkpatrick, LCSW, MPH

04/20/2011

My guess is that there has been a below-the-surface reaction among DASH data fans but caution has prevailed as result of partisan turbulent politics and the growing pressure to reduce the federal deficit. Since the November elections, CDC agency leadership seems to have looked for ways to consolidate internal budgets, enabling the decision-makers to reduce spending in specific areas with limited public awareness. But the recent posting of the Q & A on the DASH web site, makes the proposed changes clear. I'm unfamiliar with any organized protest that have been made or is being developed.

Please weigh in if you have information or thoughts on Robin's query.

Julia Lear

04/21/2011

I appreciate that we are having this conversation and trying to understand the fate of DASH and its many valuable activities, resources, and tools. One of my main concerns is that mental health is frequently not a part of the public health discourse in this country. CDC, as the primary federal agency charged with promoting the general public's health "...through health promotion, prevention of disease, injury and disability, and preparedness for new health threats" does not model an integrated view of health that includes emotional/behavioral health as vital to overall well-being. That was not true of DASH- where mental health is considered a vital component of a student's health and well-being. Without the leadership and coordination offered by the Division of Adolescent and School Health, I fear mental health will remain a stepchild in the public health field and a neglected consideration of the larger agency.