By Hannah Saunders, State of Reform, February 6, 2023
A new partnership will make mental telehealth services available to over one million students in K-12 public schools in Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), LA Care Health Plan, Health Net, and the LA County Department of Mental Health will use school-based telehealth company, Hazel Health, to provide free mental health support for students, creating shorter wait times to connect with qualified therapists and enabling earlier intervention.
According to the California Health Care Foundation’s 2022 Health Care Almanac, one in 14 children have an emotional disturbance that limits functioning in family, school, or community activities. Further data from California’s Master Plan for Kids’ Mental Healthshows that over 284,000 youth in California cope with major depression, over 66% of youth with depression do not receive treatment, and suicide rates for kids ages 10 to 18 increased by 20% from 2019 to 2020.
Brodsky explained how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated rates of mental health distress in youth through school closures, social isolation, loss of contact with supports, and a deadly and contagious virus that has led to grief and loss.
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