News Mashup for August 2021
Little Hoover Commission Recommends Overhaul of Children’s Mental Health
A new report by the Little Hoover Commission examines the pandemic’s heavy toll on the mental and emotional well-being of California’s young people. The Commission’s report lays bare a publicly-funded children’s mental health System of Care (SOC) that is “extremely fragmented and suffers from severe capacity shortages.” Arguing that California “must seize this moment” to eliminate longstanding structural and systemic barriers to care and services, the Commission advocates for 1) a single point of overall leadership under a new Department of Behavioral and Mental Health; 2) articulation of statewide goals based on metrics for access to care, quality of services, and improved outcomes, and 3) creation of school-based hubs of mental wellness.
The Commission’s report reviews two major initiatives undertaken by Governor Newsom and the Health and Human Services Administration:
The California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) proposes reforms for “reducing administrative burdens and removing diagnostic requirements that can prevent children from accessing timely mental health services.”
The Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative creates a “statewide virtual platform for behavioral health services and invest in expanding school-linked mental health services, developing a larger, more diverse mental health workforce, building a continuum of care, and promoting public awareness.”
Characterizing the above measures as “ambitious and expansive efforts” the Committee cautions that only through “strong leadership and clearly defined outcome goals” will they create lasting improvements in children’s mental health care.
The Little Hoover Commission report comes on the heels of a similar call to action released in May 2021 by a California coalition of 50+ behavioral health organizations. The coalition produced a Behavioral Health Action Blueprint addressing the many challenges facing California’s system of care. The Blueprint, designed for policy makers and providers, outlines a statewide minimum standard of care that prioritizes prevention and early intervention. Both the Blueprint and the recommendations of The Little Hoover Committee align with a recent, national consensus on children’s Behavioral Health SOC implementation published by The Institute for Innovation & Implementation, University of Maryland School of Social Work in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Click on the links below to learn more.
The Little Hoover Commission. August 24, 2021. COVID-19 and children's mental health: Addressing the impact. Report # 262. Retrieved August 26, 2021 from https://lhc.ca.gov/sites/lhc.ca.gov/files/Reports/262/Report262.pdf.
Chris Stoner-Mertz, Le Ondra Clark Harvey and Leticia Galyean, August 2, 2021. Opinion: Newsom plan responds to crisis, supports vulnerable youth. California Health Report. Retrieved August 26, 2021 from https://www.calhealthreport.org/2021/08/02/newsom-plan-responds-to-crisis-supports-vulnerable-youth/.
Behavioral Health Action. May 5, 2021. Answering the call to action: A vision for all Californians’ behavioral health. Retrieved May 30, 2021 from https://www.behavioralhealthaction.org/wp-content/uploads/BHA-Blueprint-2021.pdf.
Beth Stroul, Gary Blau, and Justine Larson. May 27, 2021. The evolution of the system of care approach for children, youth, and young adults with mental health conditions and their families. The Institute for Innovation & Implementation, University of Maryland School of Social Work. Retrieved May 30, 2021 from https://www.cmhnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/The-Evolution-of-the-SOC-Approach-FINAL-5-27-20211.pdf.
Staff Young Minds Advocacy (YMA). June 1, 2021. Behavioral Health System of Care Update. YMA News Mashup. Available at https://www.ymadvocacy.org/mashup/may2021.
New Fed Funding for Children’s Mental Health
This month NPR member station KQED reported on Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra’s announced funding bump-up for mental health awareness, training, and treatment. The new funding represents a nearly $85 million investment in three grant programs serving children and youth:
SAMHSA’s Project AWARE grants help state and local governments train school personnel to detect and respond to student mental health issues, and refer families to available services.
HRSA’s Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program provides grants to help integrate behavioral health into pediatric primary care. Pediatric mental health teams within state or regional networks provide tele-health consultation and care coordination for pediatric primary care providers to diagnose, treat and refer children with behavioral health conditions.
SAMHSA’s System of Care (SOC) Expansion and Sustainability Grants serve state and regional efforts aimed at improving the mental health of children and youth with serious emotional disturbances (SED) through the implementation, expansion, and integration of the SOC approach through improved infrastructure and service arrays.
In interview with NPR, Dr. Ujjwal Ramtekkar of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio says that the Biden-Harris Administration’s recent action is "exactly aligned with key targets for investment – teleconsultation, primary care, [and] schools, with a focus on consultation and training so that we increase the workforce and point-of-care access for kids in those settings." Click on the links below to learn more.
Selena Simmons-Duffin and Rhitu Chatterjee. August 27, 2021. Children's mental health gets millions in funding from the Biden Administration. NPR—KQED. Retrieved August 27, 2021 from https://www.npr.org/sections/back-to-school-live-updates/2021/08/27/1031493941/childrens-mental-health-gets-millions-in-funding-from-the-biden-administration.
Department of Health and Humans Services. August 27, 2021. SAMHSA awards $74.2M in grants to strengthen youth mental health. EIN Presswire. Retrieved August 28, 2021 from https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/549916805/samhsa-awards-74-2m-in-grants-to-strengthen-youth-mental-health.
Department of Health and Humans Services. August 27, 2021. Biden-Harris administration invests $10.7 million in American Rescue Plan funds to expand pediatric mental health care access. EIN Presswire. Retrieved August 28, 2021 from https://www.einpresswire.com/article/549928810/biden-harris-administration-invests-10-7-million-in-american-rescue-plan-funds-to-expand-pediatric-mental-health-care-access.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. System of Care (SOC) Expansion and Sustainability Grants portal at https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/2021/system-of-care-expansion-and-sustainability-grants.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Project AWARE portal available at https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/2021/project-aware.
Health Resources & Services Administration. Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program portal available at https://mchb.hrsa.gov/training/projects.asp?program=34.
Family First Prevention Services Act
The 2018 federal Family First Prevention Services Act seeks to curtail the use of congregate care for foster youth, an approach widely recognized as more expensive and less effective than family-based placements. Praised by The Children’s Defense Fund as “long-overdue historic reform” the act “emphasizes the importance of children growing up in families, and helps ensure children are placed in the least restrictive, most family-like setting appropriate to their special needs when foster care is needed.” Under Family First, states must prepare for a reduction in funding for congregate care starting in October 2021. This month, the National Conference of State Legislatures released a guidebook for legislators working on strategies to reduce reliance on congregate care in their state. Click on the links below to learn more.
Jerard Brown. August 3, 2021. Strategies for limited and appropriate use of congregate care. National Council of State Legislators (NCSL). Retrieved August 25, 2021 from https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/child-welfare-reform-strategies-for-limited-and-appropriate-use-of-congregate-care.aspx.
John Kelly. August 11, 2021. Senators propose Medicaid exception for congregate foster care. The Imprint. Retrieved August 28, 2021 from https://imprintnews.org/subscriber-content/senators-propose-medicaid-exception-for-congregate-foster-care/57768.
National Council of State Legislators (NCSL). June 2021. Child welfare reform: Strategies for limited and appropriate use of congregate care. NCSL. Retrieved August 25, 2021 from https://www.ncsl.org/portals/1/Documents/cyf/Congregate-Care_v05.pdf.
Chelsea Payne. February 2016. Literature review: Alternatives to congregate care. San Diego State University School of Social Work. Retrieved August 26, 2021 from https://theacademy.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/alternatives-congregate-care-feb-2016.pdf.
Foster Youth Share Policy Ideas
Last month Foster Youth Congressional Interns briefed members of the U.S. Congress on specific and actionable policies that can improve the lives of children in foster care and adoptive homes. This month, John Kelly of the Imprint gives voice to the Congressional Interns in a series of articles entitled Child Welfare Ideas from the Experts. Click on the links below to learn more.
John Kelly. August 17, 2021. Child welfare ideas from the experts #1: Support for sibling connections after separation. The Imprint. Retrieved August 28, 2021 from https://imprintnews.org/foster-youth-interns/support-sibling-connections-separation/57185.
John Kelly. August 18, 2021. Child Welfare Ideas from the Experts #2: Getting proactive to protect the Indian Child Welfare Act. The Imprint. Retrieved August 28, 2021 from https://imprintnews.org/icwa/proactively-protecting-indian-child-welfare-act/57191.
John Kelly. August 19, 2021. Child welfare ideas from the experts #3: Housing help to keep siblings together. The Imprint. Retrieved August 28, 2021 from https://imprintnews.org/foster-youth-interns/housing-help-keep-siblings-together/57197.
John Kelly. August 20, 2021. Child welfare ideas from the experts #4: Continuity of mental health services after foster care. The Imprint. Retrieved August 28, 2021 from https://imprintnews.org/childrens-mental-health/continuity-mental-health-services-foster-care/57203.
John Kelly. August 23, 2021. Child welfare ideas from the experts #5: Building the trauma-informed skillset in schools. The Imprint. Retrieved August 28, 2021 from https://imprintnews.org/child-trauma-2/building-trauma-informed-skillset-schools/57207.
John Kelly. August 24, 2021. Child welfare ideas from the experts #6: Incentivizing independent ombuds offices. The Imprint. Retrieved August 28, 2021 from https://imprintnews.org/foster-youth-interns/incentivizing-independent-ombuds-offices/57211.
John Kelly. August 25, 2021. Child welfare ideas from the experts #7: Helping foster youth get advanced degrees. The Imprint. Retrieved August 28, 2021 from https://imprintnews.org/education/foster-youth-advanced-degrees/57219.
John Kelly. August 26, 2021. Child welfare ideas from the experts #8: Helping government hear directly from tribal youth. The Imprint. Retrieved August 28, 2021 from https://imprintnews.org/icwa/government-hear-tribal-youth/57222.
John Kelly. August 27, 2021. Child welfare ideas from the experts #9: Limiting child welfare’s use of foster youth benefits. The Imprint. Retrieved August 28, 2021 from https://imprintnews.org/foster-youth-interns/protecting-foster-youth-government-benefits/57226.
John Kelly. August 30, 2021. Child welfare ideas from the experts #10: Connecting parenting foster youth to resources, child care. The Imprint. Retrieved August 30, 2021 from https://imprintnews.org/foster-youth-interns/connecting-parenting-foster-youth-resources-child-care/57230.
John Kelly. August 31, 2021. Child welfare ideas from the experts #11: A new focus on black girls in foster care. The Imprint. Retrieved August 31, 2021 from https://imprintnews.org/foster-youth-interns/new-focus-black-girls-foster-care/57234.
More Stories in August: Johns Hopkins Psychology Director gives mental health warning signs as kids head back to school ABC News — 08.04.2021; What science tells us about improving middle school PBS News Hour — 08.16.2021; As schools reopen, it’s time to increase funding for school-based health centers health affairs — 08.20.2021; How the child welfare system failed Noah Cuatro Los Angeles Times — 08.20.2021; Spotlight on the Ma’at Program: An Afrocentric LGBTQ mental health revolution San Francisco Bay Times — 08.27.2021; Isabella Montano Ponce: Latino teens and mental health NPR KQED — 08.27.2021
