After a violent tragedy, people always ask, "Everyone saw this coming. Why didn't anyone do anything?" Here's one of the main reasons it seems that way....
This week’s tragedy at Virginia Tech has brought many issues back up to the surface. Open a newspaper or turn on the radio or TV, and you’re likely to hear talk about school security, gun control, response systems, and other related topics that so need to be discussed. As the story continues to unfold, and more information is discovered, a picture is painted of a young man who was drastically in need of help. In fact, the warning signs were seen by several people, and those people responded using the means available to them to get this young man help. So what happened?
Part of the problem, a part that we rarely hear about, is the limitations of helping. In the past several years, most colleges, high schools, and middle schools have developed or fine-tuned their threat assessment plans. Teachers are told what red flags to look for. The educational system has become very good at identifying at risk students. We all know kids who concern us, kids who scare us. Unfortunately, though our intentions are good and our assessments often right on target, we often run into roadblocks when it comes to moving kids into the treatment phase. Without an overt threat to self or others, (and sometimes not even then), schools can rarely mandate treatment, nor can they make that treatment a requirement for school attendance.
Both parents and kids can put up roadblocks that preclude a child receiving help. Parents may be uncooperative, refusing to make appointments or failing to show up for sessions. Kids too, refuse to go or to participate. Additionally, an overwhelmed mental health system often lacks the resources needed to provide help to all the kids that could benefit. Inpatient treatment is a rarity except in the most severe of cases, so most kids continue to attend school while receiving outpatient services. Schools try to fill in the gaps where they can, but they are not mental health agencies.
Instead of lamenting, “Why didn’t anyone DO anything?” we need to begin discussion how we should be responding to those red flags. We need to have options, and we need to have the power to require that kids and families make use of these options. Otherwise, red flags don’t do anybody any good.
