News Mashup for April 2023
Children’s Mental Health Funds Go Unused
According to a recent article in the non-profit education news source, The74, forty states have yet to access their share of the nearly 1 billion dollars allocated by the federal government to improve student well-being under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA). President Biden signed BSCA legislation in June 2022, exactly one month after the Uvalde Texas school shooting tragedy.
According to the Department of Education, Office of Elementary & Secondary Education (OESE) the BSCA includes funds to “competitively award sub-grants to high-need LEAs [local education agencies] to establish safer and healthier learning environments, and to prevent and respond to acts of bullying, violence, and hate that impact our school communities at individual and systemic levels.” OESE designated this component of the BSCA the Stronger Connections Grant Program.
In remarks to urban educators at the March 20, 2023 Legislative/Policy Conference in Washington, D.C, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona decried state delays in applying for and distributing BSCA funds. The74 reports that state and district leaders attribute their delays to the inopportune timing of the BSCA roll-out, which coincides with looming deadlines for spending pandemic relief funding.
Click on the links below to learn more.
Linda Jacobson. April 15, 2023. Despite ‘crisis,’ states and districts slow to spend $1B in mental health funds. The 74. Retrieved April 30, 2023 from https://www.the74million.org/article/despite-crisis-states-and-districts-slow-to-spend-1b-in-mental-health-funds/.
George B. Sánchez-Tello. April 21, 2023. In the folds of a major gun control law, mental health hope for California youth. Capital and Main. Retrieved April 30, 2023 from https://capitalandmain.com/in-the-folds-of-a-major-gun-control-law-mental-health-hope-for-california-youth.
Jacqueline Howard. April 28, 2023. About 1 in 5 high school students have witnessed community violence, new CDC report says. CNN. Retrieved April 20, 2023 from https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/27/health/teens-community-violence-cdc-wellness/index.html.
New Prevalence Data on Autism Spectrum Disorder
Research published this month in the journal Public Health Reports indicates that 25% of the children identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) meet the criteria for profound autism (defined as non- or minimally-verbal and/or IQ <50). The study draws from a population of over 20,000 children diagnosed with ASD during the years 2000 – 2016. Children with profound ASD were “were more likely to be female, from racial and ethnic minority groups, of low socioeconomic status, born preterm or with low birth weight.”
This study comes on the heels of a CDC report released last month showing that nationwide, ASD prevalence per 1,000 children aged 8 years ranged from 23 (Maryland) to 45 (California) in 2020. The values reflect increased prevalence of ASD compared to similar studies conducted during 2000-2018.
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Azeen Ghorayshi. April 10, 2023. More girls are being diagnosed with autism. The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2023 from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/10/science/autism-rate-girls.html.
Matthew J. Maenner, Zachary Warren, Ashley Robinson Williams, Esther Amoakohene, Amanda V. Bakian, and others. March 24, 2023. Prevalence and Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 72(2);1–14. Retrieved April 24, 2023 from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/ss/ss7202a1.htm.
Michelle M. Hughes, Kelly A. Shaw, Monica DiRienzo, Maureen S. Durkin, Amy Esler and others. April 2023. The prevalence and characteristics of children with profound autism, 15 sites, United States, 2000-2016. Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health. Retrieved April 30, 2023 from https://autismsciencefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/CDC-Profound-Autism-Statistics_ASF-Copy.pdf.
Supporting California's Foster Youth?
In response to a projected $24 billion budget shortfall, Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2023-2024 budget proposal cuts funding for the Court Appointed Special Advocates program (CASA) by two-thirds. Currently CASA helps about 13,000 foster youth navigate the judicial system and child welfare agencies. Last year’s budget granted CASA $60M over three years to support volunteer recruitment, training, and fund raising. The first allocation, $20M, was delivered in December 2022. Sharon Lawrence, chief executive for the California CASA Association said in an interview this month with Yahoo! Finance that “the remaining funding is crucial to completing CASA’s 10-year “Serve Every Child” vision.”
In an April interview with the news service Capital & Main, the Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), said that “despite current budget circumstances, foster youth need support.” Earlier this year Assembly Member Ting introduced AB 525 to “reduce placement instability and homelessness for youth in extended foster care.”
According to the California Child Welfare Indicators Project there are 52,265 youth in California’s foster care system (January 1, 2023 data).
Click on the links below to learn more.
Mathew Miranda. April 27, 2023. Newsom’s proposed cuts to foster program angers advocates: ‘You’re hurting our youth.’ Yahoo Finance. Retrieved April 30, 2023 from https://finance.yahoo.com/news/newsom-proposed-cuts-foster-program-171212256.html.
Ethan Ward. April 5, 2023. Thousands of foster youth struggle to keep a roof over their heads: Will California help? Capital and Main. Retrieved April 18, 2023 from https://capitalandmain.com/thousands-of-foster-youth-struggle-to-keep-a-roof-over-their-heads-will-california-help.
Jeanne Kuang. April 5, 2023. California child welfare agencies under fire for pocketing foster kids’ Social Security money. CalMatters. Retrieved April 10, 2023 from https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2023/04/social-security-foster-benefits.
Toward A Leveled Playing Field
A study published this month in the journal Pediatrics examined causal links between family socioeconomic disadvantage at age 0-1 years to mental health problems at age 10-11. The study evaluated two factors of potential impact—parental mental health and preschool attendance.
From a longitudinal analysis of over 5,100 children the researchers concluded that purposefully targeting disadvantaged children in the first few years of life with interventions that include early education (pre-school) and parent mental wellness produce positive effects in later years.
They caution, however, that positive effects “require a multisectoral and sustained strategy, stacking diverse types of complementary services over childhood, including those addressing disadvantage itself (e.g., family income support).”
Click on the links below to learn more.
Sharon Goldfeld, Margarita Moreno-Betancur, Sarah Gray, Shuaijun Guo, Marnie Downes and others. April 3, 2023. Addressing child mental health inequities through parental mental health and preschool attendance. Pediatrics. Retrieved April 18, 2023 from https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/doi/10.1542/peds.2022-057101/191016/Addressing-Child-Mental-Health-Inequities-Through.
Elana Gotkind. April 3, 2023. Interventions can cut socioeconomic inequities in child mental health. MedScape. Retrieved April 18, 2023 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04-interventions-socioeconomic-inequities-child-mental.html.
Jessica Young and Rebecca A. Baum. April 3, 2023. Early childhood investments to improve the mental health of disadvantaged youth. Pediatrics. Retrieved April 30, 2023 from https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/151/5/e2022060264/191015/Early-Childhood-Investments-to-Improve-the-Mental.
More Stories in April: Building resilience in the face of emerging threats to child and youth well-being: Proceedings of a workshop in brief NAS — 04.01.2023; America’s teens are in crisis: States are racing to respond Washington Post — 04.01.2023; California may change its mental health funding: Why that might cut some services CalMatters — 04.03.2023; California is phasing out its youth prisons: Is a ‘shadow’ justice system emerging? Sacramento Bee — 04.03.2023; Hidden expulsions? Schools kick students out but call it a ‘transfer’ The Hechinger Report — 04.04.2023; Recovery high schools help kids heal from an addiction and build a future NPR KQED — .04.04.2023; The clock is ticking on community schools EdSource — 04.04.2023; Why foster children are sleeping in offices and what we can do about it American Enterprise Institute— 04.05.2023; Peer court keeps youth accountable, removes shame and stigma MindSite News — 04.05.2023; Are parents infecting their children with contagious negativity? Medscape —04.06.2023; Alameda County youth are trying to lead a tough conversation around juvenile justice: We should listen San Francisco Chronicle — 04.09.2023; A district playbook to address students’ growing mental health needs Education Week — 04.10.2023; The tragedy of Black youth suicide American Association of Medical Colleges — 04.11.2023; JED and AASA form exclusive partnership to develop comprehensive youth mental health and suicide prevention approach for districts nationwide Business Wire —04.11.2023; California’s strategy to promote and improve understanding of Medi-Cal for kids & teens JD Supra — 04.12.2023; How our schools can address California’s youth mental health crisis — now EdSource — 04.13.2023; Teen with life-threatening depression finally found hope: Then insurance cut her off NPR — 04.17.2023; Why are teen girls in crisis? It's not just social media US News & World Report — 04.17.2023; Social media and youth mental health Psychology Today — 04.17.2023; More than 40 school districts across America are suing social media giants Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok for 'creating a youth mental health crisis' Daily Mail — 04.18.2023; ‘I put my fighting gloves on a lot faster.’ How understanding foster parents may mean ‘life or death’ for trans kids PublicSource —04.21.2023; The truth about teens, social media and the mental health crisis NPR — 04.25.2023; How many people might lose Medicaid when states unwind continuous enrollment? Kaiser Family Foundation — 04.26.2023; A new portrait of American teenagers in crisis Politico — 04.27.2023; For Sacramento teen, Medi-Cal coverage of early psychosis treatment proved a lifesaver California Healthline — 04.28.2023; Teens, screens, and mental health Psychology Today — 04.30.2023.
