Children's Mental Health Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

DHHR To Distribute Federal Funding For Mental Health And Substance Use Services

In a release, the DHHR outlined seven grant programs that will support various health initiatives across the state.

More than $33 million in federal funding was awarded to the Bureau for Behavioral Health (BBH) to enhance mental health and substance use prevention services for West Virginians.

Federal funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will support prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery services across the state.

“BBH and its partners are seizing every opportunity to meet our state’s behavioral health needs,” said Dawn Cottingham-Frohna, commissioner for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ (DHHR) Bureau for Behavioral Health. “With this funding, we are not only addressing the immediate needs of our communities but also investing in the long-term well-being of West Virginians.”

In a release, the DHHR outlined seven grant programs that will support various initiatives:

The Screening and Treatment for Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders program will provide $750,000 annually for five years from the Health Resources and Services Administration to expand health care provider’s capacity to screen, assess, treat and refer pregnant and postpartum women for maternal mental health and Substance Use Disorder (SUD). BBH is partnering with the West Virginia Perinatal Partnership’s Drug Free Moms and Babies Project to implement the program.
The Children’s Mental Health Initiative will provide $3,000,000 annually for four years to provide resources to improve the mental health outcomes for children and youth up to age 21, who are at risk for, or have serious emotional disturbance or serious mental illness and their families with connection to mobile crisis response and stabilization teams and other community-based behavioral health services through the 24/7 Children’s Crisis and Referral Line (844-HELP4WV).
The First Responders – Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act Grant will provide $800,000 annually for four years to build upon the Police and Peers program implemented by DHHR’s Office of Drug Control Policy. The activities will be administered by the Bluefield Police Department, Fayetteville Police Department, and the Logan County Sheriff’s Office in collaboration with Southern Highlands Community Mental Health Center, Fayette County Health Department and Logan County Health Department.
The Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness grant will distribute $300,000 annually for two years to support the system of care for adults in West Virginia and promote access to permanent housing and referral to mental health, substance abuse treatment and health care services. Grantees are located in areas of the state with the most need, based on the population of individuals experiencing homelessness, including the Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless, Prestera Center, Raleigh County Community Action, the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness and Westbrook Health Services.
The Promoting the Integration of Primary and Behavioral Health Care grant will provide $1,678,044 annually over five years to serve adults with serious mental illness who have co-occurring physical health conditions or chronic diseases and adults with SUD. Three provider partner agencies have been identified to work on this project including Seneca Health Services Inc., Southern Highlands Community Behavioral Health Center and United Summit Center, covering 16 counties in the state.
The Cooperative Agreements for States and Territories to Improve Local 988 Capacity will provide $1,251,440 annually for three years to enhance the capacity of West Virginia’s single 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline center, which is funded by BBH and operated by First Choice Services, to answer calls, chats and texts initiated in the state. In addition to this award, First Choice Services received $500,000 from Cooperative Agreements for 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Crisis Center Follow-Up Programs and a National Chat and Text Backup Center award from Vibrant Emotional Health to help answer overflow chats and texts from more than 200 local 988 centers nationwide.
The Behavioral Health Partnership for Early Diversion of Adults and Youth will provide $330,000 annually for five years to establish or expand programs that divert youth and young adults up to age 25 with mental illness or a co-occurring disorder from the criminal or juvenile justice system to community-based mental health and SUD services.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

Surgeon General Issues Advisory On Social Media And Youth Mental Health

The U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory Tuesday stating that up to 95 percent of youth ages 13 to 17 report using a social media platform.

The U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory Tuesday on social media’s effect on youth mental health. Advisories are reserved for significant public health challenges that require the nation’s immediate awareness and action.

The advisory states that up to 95 percent of youth ages 13 to 17 report using a social media platform, with more than a third saying they use social media “almost constantly.”

While the advisory acknowledges some positives to social media, like accessibility to those with similar interests and a sense of community, it also warned against dangers including risks in adolescents, ages 10 to 19, who are undergoing a highly sensitive period of brain development.

A study of adolescents aged 12 to 15, cited in the advisory, found that adolescents who spent more than three hours per day on social media faced double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes including symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Mental Health America (MHA) is a community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and promoting the overall mental health of all.

MHA’s programs and initiatives fulfill its mission of promoting mental health and preventing mental illness through advocacy, education, research and services.

West Virginia ranked 39th in their findings from a study on youth with at least one major depressive episode (MDE) in 2022.

The number of youth experiencing MDE increased by 306,000 (1.24 percent) from 2021’s MHA dataset.

Nationally, 15.08 percent of youth report suffering from at least one MDE in the past year. That percentage was 16.62 percent in West Virginia or 21,000 young West Virginians.

Federal Funds To Address Mental Health In Schools

The programs will be funded over the next five years by $10 million from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

The first round of funding for an ambitious national mental health program has been announced.

Last month, both Concord University and West Virginia University announced the creation of programs designed to put more counselors in schools across West Virginia.

The programs will be funded over the next five years by $10 million from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. President Joe Biden signed the measure into law last June to tackle the mental health crisis in schools.

The program has increased the number of school social workers by nearly 50 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels. School counselors and psychologists are both up 10 percent and school nurses are up 42 percent.

The state Department of Education estimates more than 150 new school-based mental health professionals will be hired in West Virginia with the program’s investments.

The department also announced up to $2.6 million in funding for a new Mental Health Personnel Technical Assistance Center to support grantees in meeting the goals of their grant. This center will help identify and develop resources to support grantees in addressing the social, emotional, and mental health needs of PreK-12 students and staff.

The center will also provide support to the field more broadly – to grantees and beyond – by disseminating best practices in recruiting, training, placing, and retaining school-based mental health services providers.

Justice Recognizes Childrens Mental Health Awareness Week

During his weekly briefing, Gov. Jim Justice proclaimed this week is Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week.

Christina Mullins, commissioner for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau for Behavioral Health spoke to the importance of treating mental illness at every stage of life.

“During the month of May, we focus on the importance of mental health at all ages and stages,” Mullins said. “But during this week, we bring special attention to children’s mental health. Positive mental health is crucial for their overall well-being, happiness, academic performance and future success. By prioritizing mental health needs, we can help children grow resilient, thriving individuals.”

Mullins reminded West Virginians there are resources available for those in crisis. West Virginia operates a 24/7 suicide and crisis lifeline that can be reached by dialing 988.

“I cannot overemphasize the importance of reaching out for help at any time,” Mullins said. “Someone shows signs of worsening mental health, you might notice signs of sadness, anxiety, or even being in the moment of a crisis. Those call lines can help at any moment.”

In addition, the West Virginia Children’s Crisis and Referral line provides 24/7 access through calls and chat functions. That number is 1-844-HELP4WV.

“I want to thank West Virginia’s partners, providers, our governor and our legislators for valuing and prioritizing mental health care and access for children,” Mullins said. “As we worked continue to build resources statewide West Virginia can be proud of the progress we have made in helping children and adults access needed services.”

National Survey Shows Concerning Mental Health Results In LGBTQ Youth

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and a recent nationwide survey of the LGBTQ community revealed concerning numbers.

For the past five years, the Trevor Project’s annual survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People has asked LGBTQ youth, ages 13 to 24, from across the United States about their experiences in the past year. This year’s results from more than 28,000 respondents raise concerns about child and student mental health.

Of those surveyed, 41 percent seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year — and young people who are transgender, nonbinary, and/or people of color reported higher rates than their peers.

Jeneice Shaw, a licensed psychologist and assistance and training director at the Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services at West Virginia University (WVU), said that LGBTQ youth are dealing with additional stressors from a young age.

“Often what you see is that queer students, or queer folks in general, have a lot of extra added stress, because their identities are politicized,” Shaw said. “Especially young queer folks have more to manage in a lot of ways, so they have higher levels of anxiety, higher levels of depression, higher levels of attempted suicide than the cisgender or heterosexual population.”

Shaw said one benefit she’s seen is that younger generations are more open to conversations about mental health, but stigma still persists. One of the survey’s findings was that even though 81 percent of respondents wanted mental health care, only 44 percent were able to access it.

Shaw recognizes that many of the issues impacting LGBTQ people are systemic, and can’t be resolved in a therapy session. But the survey also found that small changes like living and going to school in gender-affirming environments significantly reduced the risk of suicide.

“Broadly, respecting people’s wishes and decisions like having gender neutral bathrooms in schools and spaces that are easily accessible. Not politicizing the health care for trans and non-binary folks, which we see happening a lot,” Shaw said. “I just think there’s a lot of bigger societal pieces that are threatening the existence of trans and non-binary folks, of like, ‘You don’t exist,’ kind of thing, like, ‘This isn’t real.’ And that’s not true.”

Ash Orr works as a press relations manager for a national LGBTQ nonprofit. Locally, he is a board member for Project Rainbow, an organization working to provide housing support for displaced LGBTQ members. He said that housing instability can exacerbate mental health issues.

“Here in West Virginia, we have the highest amount of trans individuals per capita of anywhere else in the country. And housing is already such a sensitive issue for the LGBTQ community, even if you take away the ongoing attacks that are happening to our community,” he said. “Housing is something that is stressful to navigate as a queer, trans person. You have to think about, ‘Is this landlord safe? Are the individuals that I may be neighbors to, are they safe? Will this be a place that I can come out to as being queer or trans while living here?’”

The Trevor Project’s survey found that less than half of LGBTQ youth — 40 percent — found their home to be LGBTQ-affirming. The survey also found that transgender people are much more likely to consider suicide. More than half of all trans men surveyed considered suicide in the past year, double the rate of cis men surveyed — cis meaning identifying with their assigned gender at birth.

“We do see a lot of younger individuals, especially now with everything going on in our state and in Appalachia, seeking housing assistance and discrimination assistance,” he said. “These issues are systemic, but they also intersect with one another, and that’s why we really do need a whole system overhaul when it comes to how we are looking at mental health access, mental health providers and services, as well as unsheltered services and resources.”

Megan Gandy, an associate professor and Behavioral Social Work program director at WVU, said that for things to improve for LGBTQ youth, it will take everyone working together.

“The thing that really struck me the most was just the fact that it takes a community for LGBTQ+ folks and kids to be well,” she said. “Legislation matters, school matters, families matter, faith communities matter. All of these things matter to make youth mental health better.”

Gandy said she’s already seeing the impact of restrictive laws, such as House Bill 2007, which the West Virginia Legislature made law earlier this year and significantly limits access to gender-affirming care for anyone under the age of 18.

“I’ve seen literal families packing up and moving. It’s not just with kids, even though that law was for kids, it’s also with adults, because they’re fearful about coming out,” Gandy said. “They’re fearful about the repercussions that they might face. They’re also trying to plan for the inevitable with what next year’s legislation might cut, they might limit adult access to gender affirming care.”

For the first time this year, The Trevor Project survey asked respondents to describe a world where all LGBTQ people are accepted. Key phrases that popped up repeatedly included things like, “people just exist,” and “basic human rights.”

Gandy said she does see a path forward for those who want to support LGBTQ children and youth.

“Youth need caring, supportive adults. It doesn’t matter if they’re heterosexual and cisgender or if they’re LGBTQ+, they just need caring and supportive adults and LGBTQ youth need adults to support them in their sexual orientation, their gender identity,” she said. “That’s something that is relatively easy to do for adults, but somehow they still find it difficult to do because of their own biases and their own belief systems that they haven’t updated with new information.”

According to Gandy, there is a particularly easy action anyone can take to show their support of LGBTQ youth.

“One of the simplest ways that we can show that LGBTQ+ youth matter is visibility because it is, it can be an invisible minority status,” she said. “We can show visibility, visible support through rainbow flags, the pride progress flag, the trans flag — those really do actually mean a lot when kids see that and it just automatically communicates to them that you’re a safe person.”

Marshall Receives Grant To Train Mental Health Professionals

Marshall University has been awarded $1.6 million to train school-based mental health professionals from the U.S. Department of Education’s Mental Health Service Professionals Demonstration Program.

Marshall University has received $1.6 million to train school-based mental health professionals from the U.S. Department of Education’s Mental Health Service Professionals Demonstration Program.

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said the money will ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for every West Virginia student.

“I am pleased the Department of Education is investing more than $1.6 million in Marshall University to train mental health service providers and help address the shortage of mental health professionals for our children,” Manchin said. “I look forward to seeing the positive impacts of the funding, and as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue advocating for resources to bolster mental health services and support our students across the Mountain State.”

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said the grant will help address a shortage of mental health professionals at a time of a noted increase in mental health struggles among younger children.

“Children are the future of West Virginia, which is why it’s imperative that we do what we can to make sure they have the best education and, by extension, the best school resources possible,” said Capito. “Mental health struggles among younger age groups have risen in the last ten years, but counseling services at schools have not improved at the same rate. This grant provides Marshall University with the resources to train a new generation of mental health professionals who will make classrooms a place for children to be excited and learn.”

The federal program funds partnerships between institutions of higher education and local schools and educational agencies. The long-term goal is to increase the number of psychologists, social workers, counselors and other mental health professionals working in low-income public schools across the Mountain State.