From The Kennedy Forum, December 2021
Invest in Youth Mental Health
Fifty percent of mental illness begins by age 14 and 75% begins by the time the brain is fully developed in the mid-20s. The pandemic has significantly worsened the collective mental health of youth, prompting the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Children’s Hospital Association to declare a national emergency in children’s mental health, and, most recently, the U.S. Surgeon General to issue a public health advisory on the same topic. To help our young people, we must come together to prioritize prevention, early identification, and early treatment in schools and primary care settings
States should:
- Integrate mental health screenings into school physicals. Children’s mental health and physical health are closely connected— identifying potential issues early on can help them get the services and support they need before challenges worsen. Illinois adopted this approach by enacting Senate Bill 565.
- Prioritize Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support in schools. Decades of research have shown the importance of incorporating SEL into classrooms and school cultures. It’s been proven to help “children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy toward others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.” States should also help schools adopt Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, which incorporate prevention, early intervention, and connections to community-based mental health services to meet students’ unique needs.
Comments (0)