Early Detection Of Problems Important

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31111, 14 July 1966, Page 2

Early Detection Of Problems Important

The maxim of “an ounce of prevention” is taken very seriously by two women involved in the welfare services of the American educational system. They are Mrs V. Scott, a social worker of Colorado Springs, and Miss L. B. Oldemburg, a teacher-nurse consultant of the Evanston Community Consolidated schools, who are visiting New Zealand. ,

They pointed out that New Zealand schools did not provide a similar service to that of the nurse consultant, although the work of the school social worker was carried out by visiting teachers and the Child Welfare Department. They considered that American schools had better school health services for

social, emotional and health problems, and were impressed by the intensive dental care

programme which New Zealand schools provided. Social workers and school nurses both have an enormous number of children under their care. Mrs Scott said she looked after 1500 children and Miss Oldemburg about 1000. Case Work Because of the enormous number of children under their care it is important to detect problems before they became too serious. Mrs Scott has group therapy and play therapy classes for very young children, but most of her work is case work. Children with problems are referred by the teacher, the parents or by other special agencies. The children may later be referred to private physicians or psychiatrists for special attention or they may be dealt with by the social worker or the teacher nurse. In cases where families are unable to afford the care recommended, the children may be dealt with at public clinics but only after a lengthy waiting period.

Social workers and school nurses work in close co-opera-tion in the United States and often families will move into an area where they know these welfare services are available in the schools. Both women are from areas where they have to deal with a mixture of races but usually they find all children have the same problems, though they might be for different reasons. Living in Chicago, Mrs Scott has many Negro Indian and Spanish American children under her care. Poor attendance by Indian or Negro children could be the result of indifferent or anti-school attitudes of the parents. Operation Headstart programmes for underprivileged children had already begun to pay dividends in Chicago, said Miss Oldemburg, and this was reflected in the enormous increase in enrolments at the kindergarten level. The picture shows Mrs Scott and Miss Oldemburg in their Christchurch hotel yesterday.