News Mashup for March 2022
Biden’s Bold Mental Health Agenda
During the March 2022 State of the Union Address, President Biden called on Congress to tackle the nation’s mental health crisis, which, although years in the making, has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden said that the Administration’s FY2023 budget will expand investment in mental health infrastructure and workforce needs, mental health awareness curricula, whole-health community schools, and programs for disadvantaged youth (e.g., Title 1, AWARE, and IDEA). The President also called for regulations governing youth-oriented social media platforms and stronger enforcement of the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), compelling insurers to cover mental health care in a manner commensurate with physical health care.
Biden’s plan, released as a Fact Sheet on March 1, has advocacy groups and providers cautiously optimistic. In an interview with NPR reporter Rhitu Chatterjee, Dr. Thomas Insel, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health and author of the 2022 book Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health, pointed out that “this is the first time since the Carter administration that the federal government has taken such significant leadership in addressing mental health.”
Many 2022 State of the State addresses highlighted the need for action on children’s mental health issues as well. A synopsis by the National Governors Association shows that 29 governors touched upon the “mental and behavioral health crisis and the benefits of providing community-based accessible services to children and families” in speeches delivered in January, February, and March.
In California, Governor Gavin Newsom allocated an unprecedented $4.4 billion in one-time funding in December 2021 to build a new system of care for children’s mental health (CalAIM). The build-out is on a 5-year timetable and while the bulk of the money has yet to be distributed, the state’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Mark Ghaly, told CalMatters reporter Jocelyn Wiener on March 17 that he is “concerned but hopeful” about the state’s ability to meet the growing mental health crisis, warning that “even the most short, short-term interventions are not as immediate as I think we would like.” Click on the links below to learn more.
The White House Briefing Room. March 1, 2022. President Biden to announce strategy to address our national mental health crisis, as part of unity agenda in his first state of the union. [Fact Sheet]. Retrieved March 1, 2022 from https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/03/01/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-announce-strategy-to-address-our-national-mental-health-crisis-as-part-of-unity-agenda-in-his-first-state-of-the-union/ .
Rhitu Chatterjee. March 1, 2022. In 'Healing,' a doctor calls for an overhaul of the mental health care system. NPR. Retrieved March 19, 2022 from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/03/01/1082993901/in-healing-a-doctor-calls-for-an-overhaul-of-the-mental-health-care-system .
Rhitu Chatterjee and Carmel Wroth. March 2, 2022. Here's what experts say Biden gets right in his new mental health plan. NPR. Retrieved March 19, 2022 from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/03/02/1084006754/heres-what-experts-say-biden-gets-right-in-his-new-mental-health-plan .
Julia Collins. March 3, 2022. To address the youth mental health crisis, policymakers must advance racial equity. CLASP. Retrieved March 23, 2022 from https://www.clasp.org/blog/address-youth-mental-health-crisis-policymakers-must-advance-racial-equity .
Benjamin F. Miller and Bill Smith. March 4, 2022. Finally, an American president gets serious about mental health. MindSite News. Retrieved March 23, 2022 from https://mindsitenews.org/2022/03/04/finally-an-american-president-gets-serious-about-mental-health/ .
SAMHSA. March 3, 2022. Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education): Notice of funding opportunity. Retrieved March 23, 2022 from https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grant-announcements/sm-22-001 .
Jeff Lagasse. March 10, 2022. HHS putting $35 million toward mental health support for children, young adults. HealthCare Finance. Retrieved March 23, 2022 from https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/hhs-putting-35-million-toward-mental-health-support-children-young-adults .
Sarah Corcoran. March 15, 2022. Biden signs new funding bill, boosting money for mental health. MindSite News. Retrieved March 28, 2022 from https://mindsitenews.org/2022/03/15/fy-2022-funding-bill-boosts-money-for-mental-health-extends-tele-mental-health/ [Find Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 here: https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20220307/BILLS-117HR2471SA-RCP-117-35.pdf].
U.S. Department of Education. March 24, 2022. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra announce joint effort to develop and share resources to ensure children have access to school-based health services. [Press Release] Retrieved March 29, 2022 from https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USED/bulletins/3105158 .
Jocelyn Wiener. March 17, 2022. When children suffer: California to funnel billions into mental health overhaul aimed at youth. CalMatters. Retrieved March 28, 2022 from https://calmatters.org/health/2022/03/california-children-mental-health-crisis/ .
Isabella Cuneo. March 25, 2022. Governors’ top priorities for supporting children and families in 2022 State of the State addresses. National Governors Association. Retrieved March 29, 2022 from https://www.nga.org/news/commentary/governors-top-priorities-for-supporting-children-and-families-in-2022-state-of-the-state-addresses/ .
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. March 28, 2022. Statement by HHS Secretary Becerra on the President’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget. [Press Release] Retrieved March 30, 2022 from https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/03/28/statement-hhs-secretary-becerra-presidents-fiscal-year-2023-budget.html .
National Association of School Psychologists. March 29, 2022. NASP welcomes robust investments in President Biden’s FY2023 budget proposal. [Press release] Retrieved March 31, 2022 from https://www.nasponline.org/about-school-psychology/media-room/press-releases/nasp-welcomes-robust-investments-in-president-bidens-fy2023-budget-proposal .
Alyna T. Chien, JoAnna Leyenaar, Marisa Tomaino, Steven Woloshin, Lindsey Leininger, Erin R. Barnett, Jennifer L. McLaren and Ellen Meara. 2022. Difficulty obtaining behavioral health services for children: A national survey of multi-physician practices. The Annals of Family Medicine. Retrieved March 28, 2022 from https://www.annfammed.org/content/20/1/42 .
Continuing Politicization Of LGBTQ+ Youth
Last month, a coalition of 20 youth-serving organizations published an open letter imploring legislators to back away from recent discriminatory, anti-LGBTQ+ actions. The signatories represent more than 7 million medical, educational, and developmental professionals. See February 2022 News Mashup.
This month, The Washington Post revealed that Governor Greg Abbott ordered “Texas’s child welfare agencies to investigate parents whose children receive gender-affirming health care, and threatened them and professionals who fail to report it with criminal prosecution.” A Texas district judge temporarily blocked Abbott’s criminalization order on March 11, but the battle is expected to find its way to the Texas Supreme Court.
In direct response to Governor Abbott’s order, President Biden and Secretary Xavier Becerra (HHS) issued forceful statements reaffirming the Administration’s commitment to support and protect transgender youth, their parents, and caretakers. In his statement, Secretary Becerra outlined immediate actions HHS is taking to support LGBTQ+ youth, reminding “Texas and others of the federal protections that exist to ensure transgender youth receive the care they need.”
Framing the discourse, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a book this month entitled Reducing Inequalities Between LGBTQ Adolescents and Cisgender, Heterosexual Adolescents. The publication summarizes proceedings of a recent workshop in which a committee of experts explored “effective programs, policies, and practices for reducing inequalities in the areas of mental, emotional, behavioral, and physical health of U.S. lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth ages 13–25.” Workshop participants also considered “institutional and structural inequities that exist and are widening for LGBTQ+ youth.” Click on the links below to learn more.
The White House. March 2, 2022. Statement by President Biden on Texas’ attacks on transgender youth. Retrieved March 19, 2022 from https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/03/02/statement-by-president-biden-on-texas-attacks-on-transgender-youth/ .
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. March 2, 2022. Statement by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra reaffirming HHS support and protection for LGBTQI+ Children and Youth. [Press Release] Retrieved March 21, 2022 from https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/03/02/statement-hhs-secretary-xavier-becerra-reaffirming-hhs-support-and-protection-for-lgbtqi-children-and-youth.html .
Brad Brooks and Steve Gorman. March 2, 2022. Texas judge temporarily blocks child abuse probe of transgender youth's parents. Reuters. Retrieved March 19, 2022 from https://www.reuters.com/world/us/texas-judge-temporarily-blocks-child-abuse-probe-transgender-youths-parents-2022-03-03/ .
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau. March 2, 2022. Guidance for Title IV-B and IV-E agencies when serving LGBTQI+ children and youth. [Information Release] Retrieved March 22, 2022 from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/policy-guidance/im-22-01 .
Dorothy Roberts. March 3, 2022. The child welfare system already hurts trans kids: Texas made it a nightmare. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 19, 2022 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/03/texas-trans-youth-welfare/ .
Jeremy Schwartz and Mike Hixenbaugh. March 23, 2022. We’re going to be conservative: Official orders books removed from schools, targeting titles about transgender people. ProPublica. Retrieved March 29,2022 from https://www.propublica.org/article/were-going-to-be-conservative-official-orders-books-removed-from-schools-targeting-titles-about-transgender-people .
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. March 2022. Reducing inequalities between lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer adolescents and cisgender, heterosexual adolescents: Proceedings of a workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Retrieved March 19, 2022 from https://doi.org/10.17226/26383 .
Reversal of Landmark Mental Health Parity Ruling
On March 22, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a February 2019 District Court ruling — Wit v. United Behavioral Health (UBH) — seeking fair and equitable coverage of UBH patients with mental health and/or substance abuse disorder. To many, this reversal flies in the face of federal law requiring insurers to cover treatment for mental health and substance use disorders in a manner no more restrictive than treatment for illnesses of the body (2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act). Patrick Kennedy, Former U.S. Representative of Rhode Island and founder of The Kennedy Forum decried the circuit court ruling saying that “millions of Americans with mental health and substance use disorders will continue to face discriminatory practices” by the largest behavioral health managed care company in the country. Click on the links below to learn more.
American Psychiatric Association. March 23, 2022. American Psychiatric Association statement on Ninth Circuit Court’s decision in Wit v. United Behavioral Health. [News Release]. Retrieved March 29, 2022 from https://www.psychiatry.org/newsroom/news-releases/american-psychiatric-association-statement-on-ninth-circuit-court-s-decision-in-wit-v-united-behavioral-health .
Patrick J. Kennedy. March 24, 2022. The landmark legal ruling in the fight for mental health equity has been overturned. The Kennedy Forum. Retrieved March 29, 2022 from https://www.thekennedyforum.org/blog/a-landmark-legal-ruling-in-the-fight-for-mental-health-equity-has-been-overturned/ .
Don Sapatkin. March 25, 2022. New ruling undermines battle to require parity in insurance coverage for mental health. MindSite News. Retrieved March 29, 2022 from https://mindsitenews.org/2022/03/25/new-ruling-undermines-battle-to-require-parity-in-insurance-coverage-for-mental-health/ .
Time-Out For TikTok
In YMA’s September 2021 News Mashup we reported on the “great reveal” by a Facebook (now Meta) whistleblower that made public the company’s research on the impact of Instagram on youth mental health. The revelations of what Facebook knew, and did not publicly disclose, set off a barrage of criticism from lawmakers, advocacy groups, and parents. The ‘great reveal’ led Facebook to suspend work on its version of Instagram for youth, and in February the Kids Online Safety Act, was introduced by Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
This month, a bi-partisan coalition of Attorneys general began examining whether TikTok is also putting youth at risk. Leading the charge is Attorney General Rob Bonta of California with Attorney generals from Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont. Bonta says that “the investigation focuses, among other things, on the techniques utilized by TikTok to boost young user engagement, including strategies or efforts to increase the duration of time spent on the platform and frequency of engagement with the platform.” Click on the links below to learn more.
State of California Department of Justice. March 2, 2022. Attorney General Bonta announces nationwide investigation into TikTok. [Press Release] Retrieved march 19, 2022 from https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-announces-nationwide-investigation-tiktok .
Courtney Robinson. March 2, 2022. Biden signals protecting your children's mental health by cracking down on social media. WTSP Tampa Bay. Retrieved March 19, 2022 from https://www.wtsp.com/article/tech/children-mental-health-social-media/67-b7309bd0-70f4-4fe9-9efe-4dd60012caa5 .
Cat Zakrzewski. March 2, 2022. Coalition of state attorneys general launches probe into whether TikTok harms children and teens. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 23, 2022 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/03/02/state-attorneys-general-tiktok/ .
Marcy Gordon. March 3, 2022. Colorado, other states launch probe into TikTok’s effect on kids’ health. The Colorado Sun. Retrieved March 19, 2022 from https://coloradosun.com/2022/03/03/colorado-tiktok-investigation-phil-weiser/ .
CBS News Staff. March 3, 2022. States start probe of TikTok's impact on young users' mental health. Retrieved March 19, 2022 from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiktok-states-probe-impact-young-users-mental-health/ .
Marcy Gordon. March 4, 2022. States launch probe into TikTok’s effect on kids’ health. Youth Today. Retrieved March 19, 2022 from https://youthtoday.org/2022/03/states-launch-probe-into-tiktoks-effect-on-kids-health/ .
Susannah Luthi. March 15, 2022. Instagram, TikTok could get sued for addicting kids under California proposal. Politico. Retrieved March 28, 2022 from https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/15/instagram-tiktok-addiction-kids-california-proposal-00017196 .
Carolyn Jones. March 16, 2022. Is crackdown on social media for kids too late? EdSource. Retrieved March 28, 2022 from https://edsource.org/2022/citing-the-impact-on-children-officials-ramp-up-efforts-to-regulate-social-media/668911 .
Yeunhee Kwak, Hyejin Kim, and Jung-Won Ahn. March 23, 2022. Impact of internet usage time on mental health in adolescents: Using the 14th Korea youth risk behavior web-based survey 2018. PLOS One. Retrieved March 29, 2022 from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0264948 .
PLOS staff. March 23, 2022. Teen internet usage associated with stress and suicidal ideation. [News Release] Eureka Alert AAAS. Retrieved March 29, 2022 from https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/946587.
Physicians Weekly. March 26, 2022. Higher internet use tied to poorer mental health in teens. Retrieved March 28, 2022 from https://www.physiciansweekly.com/higher-internet-use-tied-to-poorer-mental-health-in-teens .
Juvenile Justice Centers Catalyze Adult Offending
Nationwide, the juvenile justice system adjudicates more than 700,000 youth annually. A study published this month in Psychological Medicine examined the effect of juvenile justice involvement on adult criminal outcomes. The results are disheartening. The study finds that “participants with a history of juvenile justice involvement were more likely to have later official and violent felony charges” suggesting that the nation’s traditional rehabilitation efforts are failing to achieve positive outcomes. Residential juvenile justice centers were associated with highest risk of adult offending, leading the authors to conclude that these centers “may catalyze rather than deter adult offending.”
In 2021, California passed Senate Bill 823 requiring the state’s Division of Juvenile Justice to shut the state’s youth prisons by 2023. The law shifts the burden of maintaining juvenile justice facilities to the counties. Unfortunately, many counties are ill-equipped to manage the responsibility.
Los Angeles county is an egregious case-in-point. In late 2021, an inspection by the California Board of State and Community Corrections determined that L.A. County juvenile halls were not suitable care facilities.
In March, L.A. County Probation Department made a hasty, weekend decision to shut down Central Juvenile Hall ahead of a follow-up inspection by state regulators. In interviews with the Los Angeles Times, probation officers described a “chaotic, rushed transfer of approximately 140 kids, some with severe mental health issues or self-injurious behavior.” The employees said that “parents were not notified of the move, and many showed up at Central Juvenile Hall for scheduled visits unaware that their children had been relocated.” Click on the links below to learn more.
Brandie Jefferson. March 8, 2022. Juvenile justice: 'We are coming up short,' says researcher. PHYS.ORG. Retrieved March 23, 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-03-juvenile-justice-short.html .
Copeland, W., Tong, G., Gifford, E., Easter, M., Shanahan, L., Swartz, M., and Swanson, J. March 10, 2022. Adult criminal outcomes of juvenile justice involvement. Psychological Medicine/Cambridge Core. Retrieved March 28, 2022 from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/abs/adult-criminal-outcomes-of-juvenile-justice-involvement/A5DD76522B6FE63C869419B21E07ABCD .
James Queally. March 16, 2022. ‘We’re screwed’: L.A. County empties troubled juvenile hall ahead of state board’s inspection. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 21, 2022 from https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-03-16/la-county-empties-central-juvenile-hall-ahead-of-state-inspection .
Susan Shelley. March 23, 2022. What is going on with juvenile justice in Los Angeles County? Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved March 28, 2022 from https://www.dailynews.com/2022/03/23/what-is-going-on-with-juvenile-justice-in-los-angeles-county/ .
Bollich-Ziegler, K. L., Beck, E. D., Hill, P. L., and Jackson, J. J. 2021. Do correctional facilities correct our youth? Effects of incarceration and court-ordered community service on personality development. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 121(4), 894–913. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000326 .
Betty Márquez Rosales. October 7, 2021. Changes to California's youth prison system prove difficult to implement. EdSource. Retrieved March 23, 2022 from https://edsource.org/2021/changes-to-californias-youth-prison-system-prove-difficult-to-implement/661967 .
More Stories in March: How Oregon’s alone-in-the-nation approach to children’s health care unraveled in weeks The Lund Report — 03.01.2022; In child welfare, if the solution is money, the problem is poverty Youth Today— 03.03.2022; Every school can, and should, be a community school Ed Source — 03.06.2022; Shackles and solitary: Inside Louisiana’s harshest juvenile lockup ProPublica 03.10.2022; Book bans, racism, and black children's mental health Psychology Today — 03.09.2022; Bloomberg spotlights adolescent mental health The Johns Hopkins News Letter — 03.10.2022; Report finds schools in L.A. County's youth justice system lacking EdSource — 03.14.2022; ‘Youth are more in crisis:’ What that mental health toll looks like in Fresno County Fresno Bee — 03.22.2022; Interconnecting mental health and behavioral support improves school safety, study says National Institute of Justice — 03.21.2022; What makes some California school districts so much better at preventing bullying? Los Angeles Daily News— 03.23.2022; Children's mental health concerns still remain high NBC Right Now — 03.25.2022; Parents’ guide to 504 plans and IEPs: What they are and how they're different EdSource — 03.29.2022; Hiding in plain sight: Youth mental illness premieres June 27 and 28 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS WETA — 03.31.2022; School screenings: What we are missing and how some states are taking action The Kennedy Forum — 03.28.2022; An advocate’s guide to Medi-Cal services: Accessing Medi-Cal services during COVID-19 public health emergency NHeLP — 03.31.2022; A pandemic test of teenage resilience Johns Hopkins Magazine — 03.30.2022; New York State failed to provide legally required mental health care to kids, lawsuit claims ProPublica — 03.31.2022; Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES) CDC — 03.31.2022
