Paul Wellstone

Mr. WELLSTONE

Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, let me ask my colleague. I would be pleased to accommodate him. Here is the question from me. In fact, I am almost surprised these first two amendments have not even been accepted. I have been working most of my adult life in this area, and I really want to talk about mental health and juvenile justice. I think there are two amendments here. I don't want to rush through this and not give justice to what I think is an agonizingly important and painful question.

Mr. WELLSTONE. But I have no intention of going on and on; so if we could get a reasonable time limit. Could I ask this: Since I have a lot of amendments here, how long are we allotting to different Senators? In other words, Senator Sessions has an amendment.

Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I would be pleased to finish up on my amendment in a short period of time. It sounds as if my colleague does not need a lot of time, but I would like to be able to offer my amendments here today.

Mr. WELLSTONE. I know about that.

Mr. WELLSTONE. I say to my colleague, this is why we may need more time. This actually just allows for the States, but it has the same language the House has which specifically lists mental health services so we make it clear this is part of what is to be done. We do not mandate this.

Mr. WELLSTONE. I say to my colleague, I can finish in 10 minutes and then we can go to another amendment.

Mr. WELLSTONE. Reserving the right to object, after my colleague from Alabama is recognized, I ask that we then return to me and I can offer my next amendment.

Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I am almost finished on the first one, but I cannot----

Mr. WELLSTONE. Yes.

Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, just again, to summarize, this is not a mandate. The amendment allows States to use the new juvenile justice delinquency prevention block grant funds for ``services to juveniles with serious mental and emotional disturbances . . . who are in need of mental health services'' before they land in the juvenile justice system. This is the language from the House legislation. And this is language which is critically important, because if we do not have, I say to my colleague from Utah, language with this kind of specificity, then I think once again these kids just get lost in the shuffle. I say to my colleague from Alabama, the second thing this amendment does is it says that for those kids who are incarcerated, let's allow States--they do not have to do it--to use the block grant funds for programs which will enable them to do an assessment of these kids, once in these facilities, who are struggling with mental problems, and make sure that they can get some treatment to these kids. That is what these two amendments do. I will talk about my visit to Tallulah--it is but one example--a facility in Louisiana. The only thing I can tell you is that all across the country, unfortunately--and Tallulah is but one example--you have a lot of kids locked up who do not need to be. They stole a moped. They did not commit a violent crime. They have all sorts of mental problems. They are not getting the care they need. They could be treated in their community. You do not want to have them incarcerated. And then, God knows, for those who are incarcerated, you want to make sure they get the treatment. That is what this amendment says. When I was in Tallulah, there were about 650 kids, and about 80 percent were African American--we will get to the whole problem of disproportionate minority confinement tomorrow in the amendment--as young as age 11; and many of them--I am sorry, too many of them--quite often are locked up in solitary confinement for up to 7 weeks, 23 hours a day, as young as age 11. What I am saying is, at least let's allow States, with some clear language here, to provide mental health services to these kids who need services. That is what this amendment is all about. The way these children are treated is brutal; it is harsh; it is unconscionable; it is not right. I hope to get very strong support for this legislation. While I am speaking, for those who may be watching, I thank the Chair personally, as opposed to reading or writing notes, for having the courtesy to listen to what I have to say as a Senator. I thank Senator Lugar from Indiana for doing that. That is very important to me as a Senator when I am speaking about an issue that I think is important. I thank the Senator for his courtesy. How much time do I have?

Mr. WELLSTONE. Are we going to try to see whether we can work this out? I would reserve time if I thought there was going to be debate. I am ready to debate amendments. Whatever you want to do.

Mr. WELLSTONE. OK. Then I will yield the floor and come back with an amendment after my colleague.

Mr. WELLSTONE. I would be pleased to do so. I just say to my colleague from Utah, whom I do not want to anger, not because I mind debating him--I appreciate the debates--but because I know how accommodating he can be, I am not going to come out here and talk and talk and talk, but I want to have the opportunity to give some context to these amendments. I think it is really important. So I would like to ask unanimous consent that I follow Senator Sessions. And I will try to do it in as efficient a way as possible. I do not think I can do every amendment in 10 minutes. I do not intend to. I just want to be honest with my colleague.

Mr. WELLSTONE. I thank my colleague.

Mr. WELLSTONE. I thank my colleague. Mr. President, I understand what my colleague said. I think throughout this legislation, again, and we talked about truancy, we talked about the need for intervention, we talked about kids who are getting into trouble. Again, we just have to get more counselors in our schools and the Federal Government should be a real player. That is the ``why'' of this amendment. I was mentioning that the Minnesota student/counselor ratio is 1,011 to 1. This means on average one counselor serves two times the number of House and Senate Members combined. So a great education State--in my opinion, the greatest progressive education environment and health care and family State in the country--in Minnesota, we have a ratio of 1000 to 1. That means on average, one counselor serves two times the number of House and Senate Members combined. Minnesota is not the only State, however, that is in desperate need of school-based mental health services. Across America, schools are experiencing a shortage of qualified counselors, psychologists and school workers. My amendment would establish a funding program similar to the COPS Program that provides seed money to States that provide for more mental health service providers in the schools. And we need to do this. Approximately 141,000 new counselors, social workers and psychologists are needed for our schools. My amendment would provide States and localities with the resources to meet these children's needs. It is on a one-third, one-third, one-third basis. America's students simply do not have adequate access to counseling services and other mental health services. A student from Mahtomedi High School, in Mahtomedi MN, wrote about her counselor, Anne Melass. This student had a serious problem with cutting herself, and was admitted to a hospital for treatment. She writes: Since my return, I have been constantly working with the counselors. I am in a foster home. My mother killed my sister. . . Can you believe what some kids have to go through? . . . and my dad was unfit to take care of me. I was in three different foster homes before I came to Joe and Michelle's. She concludes by saying: A note to this is that (counselors) have so many people to listen to whom they truly care about, but if someone is in pain or needs help, they shouldn't have to wait in line. There are way too many children who are waiting in line in our schools. If we are serious about juvenile justice and we want to do something about truancy, we want to do something about kids at risk, we want to do something to help kids before they get into trouble, then clearly this is a direction we must go. She is not alone. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, although 7.5 million children under the age of 18 require mental health services, only one in five receive them--only one in five. Yet another student writes of her frustration, because not enough counselors are in the school: I strongly feel that our school should have more counselors, we have a difficult time making appointments when we need to talk to someone. Violence does not only happen in the schools and on the streets. Violence happens in homes. One young man writes: Earlier this year I was going through some hard times with my parents. My father especially. He goes on to say that a counselor was able to give him the skills to prevent a fight with his father. He writes: Through my parents' talking with the counselor, we decided family counseling would be a good thing to try and we are currently involved in that and it is starting to help a little. With such high ratios, though, it can be difficult even to get an appointment. A counselor helped this young man and several others. Hundreds, thousands of students are not that lucky and they do not get the help they deserve. Anne Melass, a licensed school counselor, is one of those special school counselors who gives students the extra time. She explained what being a counselor was like. She writes: A typical work day for a school counselor is a new appointment every 15 minutes. The caseloads per counselor range from 400 to 1,800 students. I believe ``school counselor'' is interpreted many different ways but most people assume it is a non-threatening person you can go to for help with any concern you have in the school. I strongly believe that increasing school counseling services could very well change the community perception of public schools. It could help a lot of kids. It could help a lot of kids before they get into trouble. It could prevent some of the violence we want to prevent. The serious shortage of counselors, school psychologists and school social workers in America's schools has undermined our efforts to make schools safe, improve academic achievement, and assure bright futures for the youth of America. I will never forget a gathering I was at in Minneapolis about 2 months ago, of about 50 principals, title I teachers, support staff. They said to me that by first grade--by first grade--if we don't have more counseling services for these kids, even as I have said before, with the best schools, smallest class size, best technology, these kids are not going to do well. We need to get the support services for the kids. To respond to my colleague from Alabama, let me talk about the school counselors, who they are and what they do. They are highly trained professionals. They are credentialed by law or by regulation. In all 50 States and the District of Columbia, counselors are required to obtain graduate education in guidance and counseling for entry-level credentialing as a professional school counselor. Mr. President, 39 States and the District of Columbia require the attainment of a master's degree in counseling and guidance or a related field. We are talking about an infrastructure of professionals to get this help to kids. School psychologists have obtained a master's degree or doctoral degree in school psychology, or a Ph.D. degree in counseling psychology, or a Ph.D. in school psychology or counseling psychology. All school psychologists are certified or licensed by the State in which they work, usually by the State department of education. School psychologists and counseling psychologists who practice in a private school, community agency, hospital, or clinic may be required to be licensed by the State Board of Psychology as well. School social workers typically possess a master's degree in social work and are certified by the State's educational agency. School counselors, school psychologists and social workers provide a number of importance services, designed to support students, parents and the teachers. They improve school functioning, school safety, the kids lives; they work to prevent school violence and to prevent a whole lot of other problems. They offer information and guidance on postsecondary education and training options. They provide consultation with teachers and parents about the student learning, behavior and emotional problems. They develop and implement prevention programs including school safety and behavior management. They deal with substance abuse, they set up peer mediation, they enhance problem solving in schools, and the fact of the matter is, we have done a terrible job as a nation of making sure we have the counselors, that we have the social workers, and we have the psychologists in our schools. On the average in our country, there is only 1 counselor for every 513 students in our Nation's elementary and secondary education schools. In States like California or Minnesota, 1 counselor serves more than 1,000 students. Utah, Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, Mississippi, Michigan, Tennessee and Colorado are in the top 10 worst States in the country. In Colorado, the student-to-counselor ratio is 654 to 1. That is better than Minnesota. But it is real hard as a counselor to be able to help a lot of kids when you have 654 kids you are trying to deal with. In Mississippi, another State victim of a school shooting, the ratio was 635 to 1. Furthermore, more than 50 percent of full-time school psychologists are working in settings with a ratio of greater than 1 to 500. I think I have made my point, but I want to just read a couple of other quotes. Then I will conclude. I would say to my colleagues, I actually could go on and on. Margo Rothenbacker from Fridley Middle School, who is a counselor: I am writing to plead with you to reduce counselor students ratios for school counselors. My caseload is 475 and unless there is an observable crisis, I do not see many of these students. I only have time to deal with the students that surface due to behavior or intervention by the county or police. What about the students who need help desperately but are not able to come forward or express their need in a way to draw attention? As a former high school teacher I believe that every elementary school should have a counselor. And she is right. Margo Rothenbacker is right. The counselor stays bonded with students as they transition from year to year from kindergarten through middle school through high school. I have a letter about this 100,000 counselors amendment which I think is on the mark: Senator Wellstone: . . . Please share with your colleagues my dismay at their continued delay in moving toward increased funding for prevention initiatives in our Nation's schools. The basis of professional school counseling has always been on prevention--educating young people about sound decisionmaking skills in order to avoid poor choices later in life. This is particularly true when it comes to conflict mediation and violence prevention. In Minnesota during the past few weeks since the Littleton, CO, tragedy, much publicity has been focused on school districts spending large sums of money to have ``tactical assessments'' done on how to ``retake'' a school after such a Littleton-like scenario. Good God, Senator--what have we come to in our country? Have we so bankrupted our schools that they have given up the fight and mission of trying to prevent problems before they occur? Have our schools just decided that we can no longer prevent the Littletons, the Jonesboros, the Paducahs, the Pearls and are now just making contingency plans to deal with it when it happens rather than try and prevent it? . . . Nationwide our ratios are absurd--in Minnesota we are next to dead last in the Nation as far as student-to-school counselor ratios go: . . . we average over 1,000:1. . . . We need funding to hire more school counselors. He concludes by saying: Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts regarding this issue. This is Walter Roberts, associate professor of Counselor Education Professional School Counseling Program at Minnesota State University- Mankato. Terry Johnson of White Bear, MN--where my daughter teaches--knows the demands and difficulty of being a school counselor. He writes: I am a counselor at White Bear Lake High School-South Campus. We are a suburban school located north of St. Paul, MN. We currently have 1,400 students in our building, all juniors and seniors. Our lower classmen are located in a separate building. I am one of three counselors in our building. We are unique in that our entire population is dealing with graduation issues being imminent. Our load is approximately 450 to 1; we have very little time to do real counseling, as many of our colleagues nationwide also do not. Sally Baas, a school psychologist in Anoka-Hennepin School District, writes: I have been responsible for school psychological services for up to 3,500 students. And because of this high ratio, she stated that ``many students are ignored.'' They do not get the attention they deserve and the attention their families deserves. There is a considerable amount of research which makes the point that this works, which I will not go through right now--more counselors; more school psychologists; more social workers; 100,000 counselors, just like the COPS program. It makes a whole lot of sense to do this. We have been acting as if this is icing on the cake, counselors do not matter that much, they are not that important, mental health services is just not that important. It is critically important. There are a lot of kids in our schools in our country who are in trouble. There are a lot of kids who need additional help, and if we are serious about juvenile justice and we are serious about getting kids before they get into trouble and we are serious about preventing the violence and we are serious about helping kids, then this amendment is right on point. Billie Jo Hennager, a counselor in Barnum High School in Barnum, MN, knows firsthand the serious damage we do to America's youth when adequate mental health and counseling services are not provided. He writes: I have a story, as do many counselors, that may be helpful in helping others understand the importance of having lower student/counselor ratios. One day during the first month, I was contacted because there had been a violent incident the night before that was witnessed by 9 to 10 students. A man was getting violent toward a woman, yelling, pushing, et cetera. The man returned a few minutes later with a gun, shot the other man point blank in the face, shot at the woman (a bullet grazed at her arm) and then swung the gun around at the kids yelling, ``What the [expletive] are you looking at?'' Not only did these kids have a gun pointed at them, but they witnessed a man's face being destroyed by a bullet, pieces of flesh flying through the air, and blood splattered everywhere. I don't think I need to explain how traumatic this situation was for those students. All students were in school the next day, but no counselor was available. I rushed to [their school] (an hour away) as soon as I could. These kids will have that memory forever . . . there is definitely a shortage of school counselors in Minnesota. I add, all across the country: Obviously, the situation there is less than ideal. Unfortunately, it's not all that unusual. Mr. President, I believe I have sent this amendment to the desk. Have I?

Mr. WELLSTONE. I send the amendment to the desk.

Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. WELLSTONE. I am pleased my colleague wants to go on to another subject. Again, my colleague is talking about once arrested there has to be ways of intervening. Does my colleague not think it makes sense to intervene even before a young person is arrested?

Mr. WELLSTONE. Last question for my colleague. This bill came directly to the floor, right? It didn't go through the Judiciary Committee?

Mr. WELLSTONE. I thank my colleague. I say, by way of conclusion, to our profound disagreement--though it is an honest disagreement--that I just do not think you can decontextualize any of these issues. I do not think you can talk about juvenile justice without talking about all of the other issues that are critical to children's lives. I really believe, I say to my colleague, that the focus on building more jails and building more prisons--in perpetuity will never really stop the cycle of violence. That is what this amendment that is offered is aimed at in a very effective way.

Mr. WELLSTONE. Will my colleague yield for a moment? Can I ask a question?

Mr. WELLSTONE. I apologize for breaking up the flow of the Senator's presentation. I wonder, the Senator is not offering the amendment, is he? He is speaking in general, is that correct?

Mr. WELLSTONE. I have been waiting. I will probably leave for a while. My understanding was that they wanted us to be offering amendments. My colleague can take as long as he wants. I just want to know if he is going to take a considerable amount of time.

Mr. WELLSTONE. I thank my colleague.