Childhood Well-Being Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Nationally Recognized W.Va. Program Helps Children Deal With Trauma

In 2013, the West Virginia Center for Children’s Justice launched a program called Handle With Care. The collaborative program is meant to help children who’ve experienced abuse, neglect or other types of trauma succeed in school. The program that started on the West Side of Charleston is now expanding across the state and in other communities across the nation.

Mary C. Snow Elementary School is located in a neighborhood where it can be stressful to be a child. The West Side of Charleston has gained a bad reputation for drug crimes and violence, and in 2014 the city of Charleston as a whole saw an increase in both criminal activity and violent crimes.

W.Va. police officer visits a classroom at Mary C. Snow Elementary

While these crimes are usually committed by adults, that doesn’t mean children aren’t affected by them. And that’s where the Handle With Care Program comes into play. If a child is exposed to crime, violence or abuse, police notify the principal and school counselor by the start of the next school day.

Janet Allio, school nurse at Mary C. Snow Elementary School

“When I first heard about the Handle with Care Program, I thought, that’s the program for us because 75% of our children are in some form on traumatised environment on a day to day situation,” said Janet Allio, the school nurse at Mary C. Snow Elementary School

It’s not always clear when something traumatic has occurred in a student’s life. The first step in the Handle with Care program is when police officers send schools a form after they respond to traumatic events with children present.

The second step is when the school’s staff figure out out what resources a child may need if they have experienced a traumatic event. Sometimes, it’s talking with the school counselor- or going to the health center for extra sleep, or spending time in the library with the school’s therapy dog, Paca.

Or, if the parent gives permission, the child might also be matched up with a counselor who travels to the school.

For children who are left to deal with trauma all on their own, there can be fatal consequences.

A report called the Adverse Childhood Experiences study found that children who experienced trauma early in life were more likely to abuse substances, smoke, overeat. Children who experience abusive and stressful situations could lose as much as 20 years off their life, compared with children who grow up in stable, loving families.

Ethan Napier and his mother Lynitrah Woodson are blowing bubbles and working with a therapist inside the mental health clinic at Mary C. Snow Elementary School.

But teachers and other adults in a child’s life can help, if they know what to look out for.

“Life does happen. And it’s teaching them how to handle things when life does happen,” says Katrina Helm, a special education teacher at Mary C. Snow Elementary.

“That we can still function, we can get the love, we can get the support the nurture that we need. Basically when they come here and we get the Handle with Care we look at what do they need and how can we fill in from there.”

Helm recently visited a meeting with other teachers from across West Virginia.

“And one of those teachers brought up that there’s so much trauma going on in their schools and they don’t know how to handle it. And they don’t know what resources do we tap into. This is an ongoing problem, it’s a growing problem, and one thing they were emphasizing there is they’re seeing it more and more in their younger kids. And that’s what we’re seeing here is we’re seeing it in our younger kids.”

Thus far, the Handle With Care Program has been supported without any extra funding- except for the resources already available to schools and children who need mental care.

The program is part of a collaboration between the state Department of Health and Human Resources, U.S Attorney Booth Goodwin’s office and the West Virginia State Police.

These groups are now working to help bring Handle With Care to communities throughout West Virginia. There are also similar programs that have sprouted in other states. When president Obama visited West Virginia last year to talk about drug abuse across the nation, he took note of the Handle with Care Program.

“I’d really like to see us advertise this more across the country and adopt this as a best practice,” said President Obama.

With drug overdose rates in West Virginia the highest in the country, Katrina Helm says more and more teachers are noticing children who are dealing with abuse and neglect. “So it’s definitely more prominent now than before. I think before we always thought it was just isolated to West Side Elementary.”

Katrina Helm is a special education teacher involved in the Handle With Care Program

But as drug abuse and domestic violence continue to barrage families across West Virginia, there simply aren’t enough resources to help children deal with trauma. Harmony Health Services, which provides mental health therapy to the students at Mary C. Snow Elementary, is working to get a mobile mental health care facility for some of the remote areas in West Virginia.

Note, since this story was originally reported, Booth Goodwin recently announced that he is resigning from office as U.S. Attorney and has filed papers to run for Governor.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

Report: Well-Being of W.Va. Children Improves

A private foundation says the well-being of West Virginia’s children has improved over the past two decades. But there are still problem areas.

A report released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation ranks West Virginia 37th in the nation in children’s well-being.

The report is based on 16 indicators, including children without health insurance and proficiency in math and reading.

West Virginia is ranked 28th in economic well-being, 33rd in family and community, 35th in health and 46th in education.

The report is part of the foundation’s KIDS COUNT project.

"My Bike" Program Comes to West Virginia

For young children with certain disabilities, it’s just about impossible to ride a conventional bicycle. So a children’s charity known as Variety, which began in Pittsburgh in 1928, along with several people who wanted to get involved, started a program called the “My Bike” program. It provides specialized bicycles, that are built to suit the special needs of the child.

Nearly 30 children received these specialized bikes at a recent ceremony in Morgantown with Variety.

One of the most exciting aspects of the event was a bicycle parade, when the children rode these rides for the first time around the SteppingStones Facility in Morgantown. One of the children, six year old Isabella, was extremely excited. It was her first bike, according to her mom, Stephanie Derby.

“We have tried other bicycles from general stores, and nothing has ever worked for her, and she gets kind of frustrated. When she got to try the bike out the first time, she was so excited, and she was pedaling and going within seconds. It gives her a sense of independence; it also gives her an opportunity for a shared activity with her older sister,” she said.

Derby says her children like to ride bikes in their spare time. She says now with Isabella in the seat she hopes the whole family bonds together over this recreational activity.

“Now that [Isabella] is going to have one, it’s something that we will hopefully do as a family and get some good exercise,” said Derby.

These are the first bikes of this kind to be donated through Variety in West Virginia. There are three wheels on the bike, instead of two. There’s a handle bar that looks like those on exercise machines and there are special safety straps too that aren’t on other bikes. Adults can step in and help maneuver the bike if necessary.

Isabella’s family proudly watched as she wheeled around in the bicycle parade.

Also on hand was U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin. He walked around the room with some of the children during the parade. He says his son in law told him about this charity; he hadn’t heard of it before. He says for children to succeed, they need adults in their lives to provide guidance.

“These children are blessed because they do have adults out there who care about them. They want for them to have a normal life as much as humanly possible and today it’s a dream come true for them. It’s really special,” he said.

According to Variety, for a family to qualify for a bike, it must reside in one of 10 counties that are participating and the family’s income must meet specific poverty guidelines. The counties participating are Barbour, Doddridge, Harrison, Marion, Marshall, Monongalia, Ohio, Preston, Taylor and Wetzel.

Study Finds W.Va. Kids Fare Poorly Compared to Nation

A private foundation says the well-being of West Virginia’s white children is the worst in the country, while black children in the state fare slightly above the national average.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation released the findings Tuesday as part of its Kids Count project.

The report found West Virginia has the lowest score for the overall well-being of white children. Black children ranked 25th out of 50.

The report is based on 12 indicators, among them normal birth weights, preschool enrollment, living conditions and proficiency on math and reading tests.

Officials say the report should serve as a benchmark for local policy, funding and business decisions.