News Mashup for December 2023
Supporting Providers / Serving Youth
A key component of Governor Newsom’s Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) aims for tighter integration of the state’s health and education systems. But as David Gordon, commissioner of Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, told EdSource this month “it will take a lot of coordination and collaboration.”
Gordon says that “The health systems and the education systems are not bound together successfully enough to make sure we engage in both prevention and treatment… [this is] particularly true for the most underserved communities.”
Although, as the EdSource article points out, “California doesn’t mandate districts to provide school counselors, social workers, nurses or psychologists, but it is encouraged.” CYBHI specifically encourages new partnerships between schools and Medi-Cal managed care plans. With the passage of AB-2508 in January 2023, the California Education Code now allows school districts to bill Medi-Cal directly for mental health services provided to eligible children.
Fine-tuning is needed, however. The founder and CEO of Wellness Together, Marlon Morgan, told EdSource that “some districts won’t get a full refund, and it can take years before the money is returned [to the district].”
Click on the links below to learn more on this and related topics in the news this month.
Monica Velez. December 18, 2023. California looks to the health system to sustain mental health funds in schools. EdSource, Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://edsource.org/2023/california-looks-to-the-health-system-to-sustain-mental-health-funds-in-schools/702583 .
Jocelyn Wiener. December 21, 2023. Mental health programs that served hundreds of kids to close after California payment changes. CalMatters. Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://calmatters.org/health/2023/12/mental-health-programs-cuts/.
Grant Parks California State Auditor. November 28, 2023. Children enrolled in Medi‑Cal face challenges in accessing behavioral health care. Report 2023-115. California Department of Health Care Services and Department of Managed Health Care. Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://auditor.ca.gov/reports/2023-115/index.html#section1.
Kate Wolff. December 5, 2023. Some children on Medi-Cal have to wait weeks, months for mental health care, state audit shows. NPR Southern Oregon University. Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://www.ijpr.org/2023-12-05/some-children-on-medi-cal-have-to-wait-weeks-months-for-mental-health-care-state-audit-shows.
Jill Jaracz and Emma Rubin. December 6, 2023. How health insurance coverage impacts access to children's mental health care. Cherokee Tribune & Ledger-News. Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://www.tribuneledgernews.com/multimedia/slideshows/how-health-insurance-coverage-impacts-access-to-childrens-mental-health-care/collection_ed37b1a4-6db5-5b16-997a-955b46a04d69.html#1.
Jade Little and Joan Alker. December 21, 2023. Child Medicaid enrollment decline reaches 3 million: How many kids are moving to CHIP? Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2023/12/21/child-medicaid-enrollment-decline-reaches-3-million-how-many-kids-are-moving-to-chip/.
Tricia Brooks. December 20, 2023. As extra Medicaid funding phases out at year’s end, states must still report data and comply with federal renewal requirements. Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2023/12/20/as-extra-medicaid-funding-phases-out-at-years-end-states-must-still-report-data-and-comply-with-federal-renewal-requirements/.
Monica Velez. December 28, 2023. New Year brings new ways for California schools to fund mental health. EdSource. Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://edsource.org/updates/new-year-brings-new-ways-for-california-schools-to-fund-mental-health.
April Dembosky. December 8, 2023. California expands insurance access for teens seeking therapy on their own. NPR-WAMU. Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://wamu.org/story/23/12/08/california-expands-insurance-access-for-teens-seeking-therapy-on-their-own/.
Jennifer Tolbert, Patrick Drake, and Anthony Damico. December 18, 2023. Key facts about the uninsured population. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://www.kff.org/uninsured/issue-brief/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/.
Goodwin Simon Strategic Research. December 2023, CalAIM Experiences: Implementer views after 18 months of reforms. California Health Care Foundation. Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://www.chcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/CalAIMExperiencesImplementerViewsAfter18MonthsReforms.pdf.
Bernard J. Wolfson. December 22, 2023. Bold changes are in store for Medi-Cal in 2024, but will patients benefit? California Healthline. Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/california-medicaid-plans-changes-2024-managed-care/.
Pearson. December 11, 2023. 6 ways mental health support in K-12 schools is evolving. K-12 DIVE. Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://www.k12dive.com/spons/6-ways-mental-health-support-in-k-12-schools-is-evolving/701667/.
Youth Online: New Data and Recommendations
A new survey by the PEW Research Center shows that teens are less likely to be using Facebook and Twitter (renamed X) than they were a decade ago. BUT, the number of teens that say that they are “almost constantly” online has doubled since 2014-2015, with 9 out of 10 respondents saying they are online at least once daily.
PEW’s 2023 survey obtained data from nearly 1500 teens (13-17 years) on social media use, internet use, and device ownership. Overall, YouTube lures the largest number of teen users, followed by TikTok, Instagram, and SnapChat. By reported gender, a significantly larger number of girls are using TikTok, SnapChat, and Instagram. Boys are the greatest YouTube users.
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) emphasizes that over the past 15 years, smartphone technology has remade the relationship between youth and the internet. The report concludes that “there is not enough evidence to say that social media causes changes in adolescent health at the population level, but research shows social media has the potential to both harm and benefit adolescent health.”
The consensus of the NAS experts is that an “International Organization for Standardization — an international, nongovernmental organization with a long history of setting and supporting technology standards — should convene a working group to develop standards for social media platform design, transparency, and data use.”
The report also calls for National Institutes of Health- and National Science Foundation-sponsored research and activities to:
Evaluate the health effects of the various platforms in use by young people.
Measure youth exposure to online platforms.
Establish long-term cohort studies.
Conduct audits of social media algorithms.
Understand the role of parents (and other adults) in encouraging positive usage.
Click on the links below to learn more.
Monica Anderson, Michelle Faverio, and Jeffrey Gottfried. December 11, 2023. Teens, social media and technology 2023. PEW Research Center. Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/12/11/teens-social-media-and-technology-2023/.
National Academies. December 13, 2023. To minimize harms and maximize benefits of social media to adolescent health, new report recommends setting industrywide standards, new protections against harassment. NAS News Release. Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2023/12/to-minimize-harms-and-maximize-benefits-of-social-media-to-adolescent-health-new-report-recommends-setting-industrywide-standards-new-protections-against-harassment.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. December 2023. Social Media and Adolescent Health. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Retrieved December 31, 2023 from https://doi.org/10.17226/27396.
More Stories in December: Final judgment by federal court approves 2020 settlement in Los Angeles foster youth mental health case National Health Law Program — 12.01.2023; Lacking counselors, US schools turn to the booming business of online therapy AP News — 12.02.2023; Slow start for mental health courts CalMatters — 12.04.2023; Youth suicide current trends and the path to prevention The JED Foundation — 12.06.2023; California can take kids from abused moms: Why the separation can harm both CalMatters — 12.07.2023; Lacking counselors, US schools turn to the booming business of online therapy Richmond Times-Dispatch — 12.09.2023; LA County invests big in free virtual mental health therapy for K-12 students California Healthline — 12.11.2023; Suicide risk in adolescents: Updated report guides pediatricians through screening, intervention AAP — 12.11.2023; It’s time to fix the fatal flaw in California education funding formula EdSource — 12.12.2023; The expanding relevance of social work in California Sierra Sun — 12.12.2023; A 10% average yearly decline in national youth arrests EdSource — 12.15.2023; Public benefit programs and differential associations with child maltreatment by race and ethnicity JAMA Pediatrics — 12.18.2023; Best of Youth Voices Rising, 2023 The Imprint — 12.19.2023; Year in review: California tackles mental health, fentanyl CalMatters — 12.19.2023; The last days of Little Eddie: Life and death in a US prison MindSite News & The Guardian — 12.20.2023; Integrating social care into a specialized medical home for sex-trafficked youth AAP — 12.21.2023; Social media companies made $11 billion in US ad revenue from minors, Harvard study finds Boston Herald 12.27.2023; Children and adolescents with suicidal ideation and the emergency department JAMA Network 12.28.2023.
