Rexburg Drama

**Warning: Super long rant. . .

So, I wanted to share a little about what has been on my mind this week. If you're not familiar with my job, I'm a Psychosocial Rehabilitation (PSR) Specialist. My job is to work with developmentally disabled children in their home or in the community to train on skills that they lack. Some issues these children have include difficulties with authorities, aggression, or attention. Since I only work in the homes when my clients' parents are there, most of our interventions are spent in the community, including the library, stores, or parks when the weather permits. A big part of our services is integrating these children into the community and teaching skills of public behavior, so community interventions are very beneficial.

On Monday, I got a call from my boss saying that the Madison Library sent a letter banning us from bringing our clients there. This shocked me, seeing as it is a public library and they virtually said that disabled children were not allowed.

This caused an outrage among lots of people in the community and I heard that the board meeting was well attended by upset parents and professionals. The library board said that it was a misunderstanding, and that discrimination was not their intent.

The reason for this blog isn't to argue or show disrespect to those who made this decision, because I know there is controversy on the subject. I just want to share my feelings about it, because I feel like people in the community are getting a false idea of what PSR is, and I want to spread the word about something totally inappropriate that is going on in Rexburg. I think that whether it was meant to or not, this new policy is absolutely discriminative.

Here is the letter that was sent to 5 agencies which employ PSR workers:

February 8, 2010

To Those Using the Library for Counseling Children:

It has become problematical to bring problem children to the library for non-library functions. The library is a place for the public to use for library functions. It is inappropriate as a place of business such as work with problem children, especially when that use interferes with library functions. Our library functions are severely compromised:

• When tables for four are completely dominated by two

• When the safety of other library users cannot be assured

• When children’s difficulties that should be private are made public

• When behavioral control is lost to the degree that police must be summoned

• When common rules of not using cell phones in the library are ignored

The Board of Trustees of the Madison Library District determined at the November 18, 2009, meeting that the library should be restricted from use in the above conditions, and that if children are brought to the library, it should be for training in library use. The board determined that the library is an inappropriate place for counseling children. We appreciate your understanding regarding this issue and ask that you inform your employees of this library policy.

Sincerely,

Judith M. Dewey

Director

On behalf of the Board of Trustees

First, I just want to say that if someone is breaking rules or acting disruptively, library employees have every right to ask them to leave. If "library functions" are interfered with, they can ask people to leave. What bothers me is that each of their reasons is very flawed. I was in the library daily and I know what has been going on there.

"When tables for four are dominated by two"-- It is true that lately there have been lots of PSR workers in the library, since it is one of the best places to go for a quiet intervention. It gets busy and sometimes it is hard to find a table (though I have always been able to find one). So their complaint is that there are too many of us and we take up too much space. I can understand how this could cause frustration. However, this library is currently in the process of building a gigantic addition. They were able to get funding for this because of how many people were there every day. They should hope that the library gets crowded sometimes, or else there would be no point (or funding) for this huge addition! That said, when people from the community come in to study, they usually spread out all their stuff and use a four person table for one person. This is just something that happens, and always will happen. People just don't share tables with strangers. (Although, when someone asks to sit at the table I'm working at, I have never refused). If there were two-person tables, we'd sit there!

"When the safety of other library users cannot be assured"-- This infuriates me. Disabled does NOT equal dangerous. My clients have never put another library user in any kind of danger. In fact, I would venture to say that children with their PSR workers are the best-behaved children in the library for the most part. They are one-on-one with an adult who is trained to deal with outbursts or tantrums. If we have any doubt that our client can behave safely and appropriately in the library, we don't bring them there. This isn't to say that they are perfect and that there are never meltdowns, but they are children. As long as any children are allowed in the library, disabled or not, there will be tantrums. I hate that they singled out our clients. I regularly have unattended children walk up to me in the library, start grabbing my things, with no parent in sight. If there are problems with children, PSR workers are not the problem.

"When children's difficulties that should be private are made public"-- Their complaint is that they can hear us talking about personal things. I have been following news articles and reading comments and quotes, and we are repeatedly called "counselors." I fully agree that private therapy sessions should not be conducted in public. However, we are NOT licensed therapists!! Each of my clients regularly sees a therapist in a private office. We do keep confidentiality concerning our clients and their issues or evaluations, but the purpose of PSR is not for private counseling sessions. The purpose is skill training. Someone walking by might overhear a lesson on respect, or sportsmanship. They might see us doing a worksheet or playing a game. If the client starts talking about something that might be personal, we listen and talk with them about it, because we are mentors, not licensed therapists. I can guarantee that other community members talk about private things sometimes. Those conversations just come up. The point is, we are accused of holding counseling sessions, and people say these sessions need to be conducted in a private office. This would defy the whole purpose of PSR and community integration. Our task plans specifically state the places we can take our clients (public libraries, community centers, parks, etc). A private office is not even an option for the type of services we provide.

"When behavioral control is lost to the degree that police must be summoned"-- I know exactly what they are referring to. Back in November, a child ran away from his PSR worker (from a different agency) and she called the police. This was unfortunate. However, it is not something that happens regularly. When dealing with the public, library staff needs to realize that occasionally, emergencies will happen. Once the police were involved, the issue was not the library's responsibility. Banning PSR workers will not change the fact that sometimes problems happen in the community.

"When common rules of not using cell phones are ignored" -- There are always people who come in talking loudly on their cell phones, and are asked (without tact, by the way) to leave. I agree, people should follow rules and not be disruptive. PSR workers are not the problem. I have to carry my phone because I have someone else's child with me, but if I get a call I step outside. We don't try to break rules. We teach kids to follow public rules. But again, if they see anyone breaking rules, they can and should ask them to leave. Nothing to do with PSR workers or clients.

One of the missions of the library is to promote a lifetime of learning. Libraries are not just for checking out books; they are places for studying and learning, and they are open to the public. If they are going to make a policy where no one can go there for work purposes, (although I'd hardly say that PSR workers are "conducting business"), the policy needs to apply to everyone. When the library board sends this letter only to agencies that deal with developmentally disabled children, they are discriminating.

I guess what upsets me is that the library did not try to discuss any of this with us. They just banned us, without warning or valid justification, and did it in an inappropriate way (Don't even get me started on them calling my kids "problem children"!!!) I just wanted to organize and share my thoughts on this subject, since it is a frustration I have been dealing with every day as I try to find alternate places to go in tiny Rexburg.

I really hope this gets resolved soon, so my clients aren't denied some of the most helpful resources for them in this community.