News Mashup for May 2022
Language Barriers To Care
This month, the American Psychiatric Association’s journal Psychiatry Online published new research detailing the dramatic downturn in the availability of mental health facilities offering Spanish-language assistance. Using data from the National Mental Health Services Survey, the authors show that between 2014 and 2019 these facilities declined nearly 18% — a loss of 1,163 facilities, nationally. The proportion of services offering Spanish-language assistance decreased in 44 states — only Delaware, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Hawaii showed increases. Paradoxically, the decrease in services is greatest in states with the fastest-growing Hispanic populations. In California, where Hispanics accounted for nearly 70 % of the population growth between 2010 and 2020, advocates found that it takes an average of 45 minutes on the Medi-Cal website to find a mental health provider who speaks Spanish.
While the proportion of Spanish-speaking facilities is in decline, the rate of serious mental illness in young Hispanics has increased by 60% from 2015 to 2018 (SAMHSA).
Recent research shows the highest rates of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder is among U.S. citizen youth living in mixed-status families, and those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. In the May 2022 National Academy workshop proceedings on suicide prevention, psychologist Dr. Thomas Chávez (University of New Mexico) explained that these youth not only experience the typical stressors of adolescence, but also acculturative stressors from the pressure to assimilate, discrimination, and anti-immigration sentiments.
The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) reported this month that “at least 1.7 million children in immigrant families in the United States are impacted by barriers to mental health care.” In California, the effect reaches 319,000 children. According to CLASP, youth with “legal permanent resident (LPR) status [in California] must wait five years before being able to access mental health care through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)” while those with DACA status “are almost entirely barred from access to mental health coverage through Medicaid, CHIP, and Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace coverage.”
Click on the links below to learn more.
George Pro, Clare Brown, Martha Rojo, Jenil Patel, Chasmine Flax, and Tiffany Haynes. May 3, 2022. Downward national trends in mental health treatment offered in Spanish: State differences by proportion of Hispanic residents. Psychiatry Online. Retrieved May 27, 2022 from https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.202100614 .
Juan Carlos Gomez. May 15, 2022. Fact Sheet: Removing barriers to mental health care is essential for children to thrive. The Center for Law and Social Policy. Retrieved May 28, 2022 from https://www.clasp.org/publications/fact-sheet/removing-barriers-mental-health-care-essential-children-thrive/ .
Matthew Hirschtritt. May 13, 2022. Habla Español? At mental health centers, the answer increasingly is no. Mind Site News Retrieved May 27, 2022 from https://mindsitenews.org/newsletter/your-brain-on-covid/ .
Naseem S. Miller. May 18, 2022. Racial disparities in mental health care: An explainer and research roundup. The Journalist’s Resource. Retrieved May 29, 2022 from https://journalistsresource.org/home/racial-disparities-mental-health/ .
Melody Tran-Reina and Jess Baker. May 20, 2022. How to ensure Medi-Cal members can access their mental health benefits. California Health Report. Retrieved May 31, 2022 from https://www.calhealthreport.org/2022/05/20/opinion-how-to-ensure-medical-members-can-access-their-mental-health-benefits%EF%BF%BC/ .
Jane Perkins and Sarah Somers. May 23, 2022. The ongoing racial paradox of the Medicaid program. Journal of Health and Life Sciences Law. Retrieved May 29, 2022 from https://www.americanhealthlaw.org/content-library/journal-health-law/article/1ace7226-252b-43c8-a52d-960a4dd3df8f/The-Ongoing-Racial-Paradox-of-the-Medicaid-Program .
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. May 2022. Strategies and interventions to reduce suicide: Proceedings of a workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Retrieved May 27, 2022 from https://doi.org/10.17226/26471 .
Susan Flores. September 2021. Medi-Cal managed care plan mental health services: An unfulfilled promise for communities of color. California Pan-Ethnic Health Network. Retrieved May 31, 2022 from https://cpehn.org/assets/uploads/2021/09/Medi-Cal-Managed-Care-Plan-Mental-Health-Services_September-2021-1.pdf .
CA SB 1019 (2021-2022) Introduced by Senator Lena Gonzalez (33rd District): Department of Health Care Services required to review and approve annual outreach and education efforts ensuring cultural and linguistic appropriateness. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1019 .
Lawmakers Recognize Mental Health Month
May is Mental Health Month. First commemorated in 1949, Mental Health Month aims to increase awareness of the importance of mental health and its impact on the well-being of children, adults, and communities across the Nation.
This year, agencies across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recognized Mental Health Month by sending a joint letter to states, tribes, and jurisdictions urging them to double down on their efforts to strengthen children’s mental health by maximizing existing federal funding streams.
As reported in our March 2022 News Mashup, President Biden’s State of the Union Address pledged to submit a FY2023 budget that will expand investments in mental health infrastructure and workforce needs, mental health awareness curricula, whole-health community schools, and programs for disadvantaged youth. In a post-address interview with NPR, Dr. Thomas Insel, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health stated that “this is the first time since the Carter administration that the federal government has taken such significant leadership in addressing mental health.”
The Administration is now calling for coordination and leveraging of new and existing federal funds. Coordination opportunities proposed by HHS include (reproduced verbatim):
Developing a statewide children’s mental health task force that coordinates children’s mental health data across Title V, Medicaid and CHIP, Title IV-E, early childhood programs, and the state mental health authorities to identify service and benefit gaps and develop a statewide response strategy to expand mental health screening, prevention, and treatment services for children.
Increasing the delivery of Medicaid Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment-eligible mental health screenings and services for children by leveraging the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant to conduct statewide training and technical assistance for pediatric and family medicine providers on integrating pediatric primary care and mental health services.
The May issue of the National Law Review highlighted the U.S. House of Representatives’ commemoration of Mental Health Month— the reauthorization of 30 mental health and substance use disorder programs under the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act (H.R. 7666), which is set to expire in September. Also in May, Members of the U.S. Senate introduced the Mental Health Reform Reauthorization Act (S. 4170) to continue key legislation supporting mental health and substance use disorder parity laws, community mental health services, and the mental health workforce.
In California, the Steinberg Institute applauded Governor Newson’s revised FY2022-23 budget plan released in May. The revisions include funds for implementation of the national 988 mental health hotline system and the creation of mental health mobile crisis teams. The expenditures would allow the state to leverage 85% matching funds offered by the federal government for 988 rollouts. The plan also includes investments bolstering the workforce of social workers, psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric nurses.
Click on the links below to learn more.
U.S. Health and Human Services. May 25, 2022. HHS leaders urge states to maximize efforts to support children’s mental health. Retrieved May 30, 2022 from https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/05/25/hhs-leaders-urge-states-maximize-efforts-support-childrens-mental-health.html .
Elizabeth Chuck. May 23, 2022. Amid growing crisis, federal officials call on states to prioritize youth mental health. NBC. Retrieved May 30, 2022 from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/growing-crisis-federal-officials-call-states-prioritize-youth-mental-h-rcna30274 .
Harry Sporidis, Rachel E. Feinstein, Sylvia Kornegay, and Timothy Perrin. May 23, 2022. Congress takes steps to prioritize youth mental health. The National Law Review. Retrieved May 30, 2022 from https://www.natlawreview.com/article/congress-takes-steps-to-prioritize-youth-mental-health .
The Steinberg Institute. May 2022. Governor Newsom’s 2022-23 budget includes critical funding to address mental health and homelessness. Retrieved May 30, 2022 from https://steinberginstitute.org/governor-newsoms-2022-23-budget-includes-critical-funding-to-address-mental-health-and-homelessness/ .
Psychiatric Burden On Homeless Teens
A study published in JAMA this month examined mental health and substance use among adolescents experiencing homelessness. The study concluded that “homeless adolescents were more likely to have seriously considered or attempted suicide than non-homeless adolescents and were more likely to have used cocaine, methamphetamine, or heroin.” The study also showed that given the demographics of homelessness, teens of color and those identifying LGBTQIA+ bear a disproportionate psychiatric burden.
In the 2018 Assessment of Homelessness, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that in the two previous years, 1 in 30 high school students experienced homelessness. This month, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released a resource report on homeless youth, emphasizing that “The trauma of homelessness, even short term, can have a major effect on a youth’s future development. Children who experience homelessness have significantly higher rates of emotional, behavioral, and immediate and long-term health problems. They often struggle with self-esteem, which puts them at risk for substance use, suicide, and other negative outcomes.”
Click on the links below to learn more.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. May 25,2022. Fighting to live: Self-esteem and homeless youth. Retrieved May 30, 2022 from https://www.samhsa.gov/homelessness-programs-resources/hpr-resources/fighting-live-self-esteem-homeless-youth .
Michael Liu, Katherine A. Koh, Stephen W. Hwang, and others. May 10, 2022. Mental health and substance use among homeless adolescents in the US. JAMA Network. Retrieved May 26, 2022 from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2791941 .
Beth Israel. May 10, 2022. Mental health and substance use among adolescents experiencing homelessness in the United States. NewsWise. Retrieved May 26, 2022 from https://www.newswise.com/articles/mental-health-and-substance-use-among-adolescents-experiencing-homelessness-in-the-united-states .
After8toEducate. May 2022. Mental health among students experiencing homelessness. Retrieved May 30, 2022 from https://after8toeducate.com/mental-health-students-experiencing-homelessness/.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. April 22,2022. Homelessness resources: Youth. Retrieved May 30, 2022 from https://www.samhsa.gov/homelessness-programs-resources/hpr-resources/youth .
School House Connection. October 7, 2021. Student homelessness: Lessons from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Retrieved May 30, 2022 from https://schoolhouseconnection.org/student-homelessness-lessons-from-the-youth-risk-behavior-survey-yrbs/ .
Tyrone C. Howard. June 19, 2018. We are failing our most vulnerable children. EdWeek. Retrieved May 30, 2022 from https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-we-are-failing-our-most-vulnerable-children/2018/06 .
More Stories in May: Addressing the youth mental health crisis with coordinated systems of care Psychiatric Times — 05.2.2022; Analysis of recent national trends in Medicaid and CHIP enrollment Kaiser Family Foundation — 05.02.2022; Pandemic linked with mental health issues in kids Medscape — 05.03.2022; New research is showing the high costs of long school closures in some communities New York Times — 05.05.2022; Teenagers’ views of the news New York Times — 05.05.2022; On the phone, alone New York Times — 05.10.2022; The number of LGBTQ foster kids is on the rise, but does Colorado have enough accepting homes? The Colorado Sun — 05.11.2022; National Addiction Treatment Locator has outdated data and other critical flaws Kaiser Health News — 05.09.2022; An exploratory study of the impact of COVID-19 on foster parenting Child & Family Social Work — 05.10.2022; The families of trans kids in Texas consider their options amid crackdown on care Kaiser Health News — 05.09.2022; What students are saying about teen mental health, moderating speech and special talents New York Times — 05.12.2022; Lawmakers demand action on child welfare failures ProPublica — 05.11.2022; San Francisco’s juvenile hall was scheduled to close last year. So why are kids still locked up there? San Francisco Chronicle — 05.19.2022; 2 senators are working across the aisle to address the mental health crisis NPR — 05.19.2022; California parents could soon sue for social media addiction AP News — 05.23.2022; Structural racism and suicide prevention for ethnoracially minoritized youth: A conceptual framework and illustration across systems American Journal of Psychiatry — 05.23.2022; Texas shooting taxes students' mental health even more EdSource — 05.27.2022; NYC’s controversial social skills assessment helped this Brooklyn school: Getting there hasn’t been easy Chalkbeat —05.27.2022; Two professors found what creates a mass shooter. Will politicians pay attention? Politico 05.27.2022; Science shows how to protect kids’ mental health, but it’s being ignored Scientific American — 05.31.2022; Counselors not part of one California district's plan to tackle student mental health EdSource — 05.31.2022
