Guest Post: The "special" relationship between MCPS and HHS

School Health Services - Cursory Assessments
by Steve Zepnick

To determine appropriate academic placements for children with medical needs, MCPS routinely requests hundreds of evaluations to be performed by School Health Services under the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  According to HHS, “The evaluations are performed by nurses, who do not medically evaluate the child but rather review records to make an assessment and determination of what level of support is needed from a school health perspective.”

This assessment is significant to plan for the appropriate placement of a child but, on occasions, it has been used by MCPS to deny special placements.  There is no policy that requires: MCPS to inform the parents that the School Health nurse is an employee of HHS and what steps can be taken for an appeal; the nurse to see or observe the child; to consult with the parents; or, to call the child’s attending physicians.  The evaluation is not even co-signed by the Health Officer.  On one occasion, a family had to demand that the nurse contact the child’s physician and then document her one hour contact.  When the nurse finally consented to document (7 mos. later), she recorded only 4-5 sentences that included an incorrect diagnosis!  When the family asked for a HHS review, the family was told by an administrator “that the nurse managers were interviewed and were very comfortable with their recommendations.”  

How would you feel if you received a medical or psychological “assessment” and the evaluator never interviewed you but wrote a report by only reviewing other reports? What if the assessment had a deleterious effect on your application for employment or needed social services?  Cursory assessments are unprofessional and harmful.  This process needs to be reviewed by both Departments for corrective action rather than ignoring parents’ complaints.  How many families of special needs children have already been harmed by this “special” relationship between MCPS and HHS?