HUNTINGTON BEACH : Schools, Agencies Merge Counseling

The Ocean View School District will become Orange County’s first school district to team up with county agencies to stem child abuse and other family problems.

The district’s Board of Trustees this week agreed to donate a portable classroom starting in September at Oak View Elementary School, from which two county social workers and a technical assistant will be based.

The social workers--one a specialist in child abuse, the other in family matters--will be available to identify family dysfunctions and offer counseling and referrals for a variety of needs. Officials said they opted to relocate the workers from a county facility in Orange to the schools because they can do their jobs better by being in the areas they serve.

The agreement will cost the district $12,000 in building renovations, and will cost the county agency nothing.

In exchange for the free office space, the county counselors will allocate some of their time specifically for Ocean View students and their families, said John Thomas, the district’s administrator for pupil personnel services. Like most school districts, Ocean View depends upon its staff psychologists--who are typically overburdened with work--to deal with family problems.

By working together, schools and county agencies can concentrate and coordinate their efforts against abuse and avoid duplicating services, said Gene Howard, director of children’s services at the County Social Services Agency.

“What we’re really trying to do here is coordinate our service delivery for kids,” Howard said. “School districts are dealing with kids with these same set of problems, and often, we’re dealing with the same families.”

The move is indicative of a nationwide educational trend in which schools and other government agencies are forming partnerships to improve services they both offer, Howard said.

In California, that effort has been accelerated because of the state funding crisis, Howard said. The state’s first social services partnership began this past school year in San Diego County, and other districts have discussed the idea, he said.

Orange County school districts considering partnerships with county agencies include the Santa Ana Unified, Anaheim City and the Fullerton school districts, Howard said.

Ocean View’s program--a pilot venture which may be emulated countywide--has moved on a faster track because, unlike many districts, it has a surplus of classroom space, he said.

Last month, Ocean View entered a similar agreement with the county mental health division. The division will station two psychologists, three clinical social workers, a part-time psychiatrist, a group of interns and a clerk in a room provided at Westmont School. That program also begins in the fall.