Mental Health Care Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Free Mental Health Resources Online For All Students, Parents In W.Va.

According to the CDC, adolescent mental health in the U.S. was worsening before the COVID-19 pandemic, and now, the nation’s youth is experiencing a mental health crisis.

At the beginning of the year, West Virginia’s Department of Education partnered with the Cook Center for Human Connection to offer free online mental health resources to students and their parents. The pilot project began in just five counties but education officials were so impressed with the feedback they received that in May they expanded the program to include all of West Virginia’s 55 counties.

The U.S. Surgeon General has issued multiple advisories in recent years, sounding the alarm on the mental health of the nation’s children.

In 2021, 42 percent of high school students surveyed by the CDC reported feeling sad and hopeless. A decade ago, that figure was 28 percent.

One 2021 study found the number of youth experiencing depression and anxiety has doubled since the public health emergency began.

“We are in a youth mental health crisis in the country, the Surgeon General has identified that, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Foundation for Children’s Hospitals,” said Anne Brown, president and CEO of the Cook Center for Human Connection. “So that’s not a surprise, but there are certain states that have extra challenges.”

The Cook Center for Human Connection is a national organization working to end suicide that operates parentguidance.org.

In West Virginia, from November 2021 to October 2022, more than 3,000 children visited WVU Medicine emergency rooms for mental health care. According to WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital in 2019, that number was about 2,000 children.

A 2021 study by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) found that 708,000 people in West Virginia live in a community that does not have enough mental health professionals.

“I lived that, I know what that feels like to have a child who’s struggling and truly not have anybody that can see them,” Brown said. “I was three, six or 12 months away from services, whether I wanted a counselor, a therapist, or if I wanted a psychiatrist, there just wasn’t anybody to help. And so I had to drive these long distances, which is financially difficult, as well as time.”

NAMI also found that more than 55 percent of West Virginians aged 12 to 17 who have depression did not receive any care in the last year.

“This group of parents and children are struggling with mental health on a level that we’ve never seen before as a nation, and so the families don’t know exactly where to turn,” Brown said. “The reality is that 80 percent of families rely first on schools for their child’s mental health.”

The National Association of School Psychologists recommends a ratio of one school psychologist per 500 students. The association estimates the national ratio is one school psychologist per 1,127 students.

“In a school setting, the school psychologist really is the person who helps support and intervene in those situations for families and for children,” Brown said.

Michele Blatt, state superintendent of West Virginia Schools said in 2023, West Virginia’s school psychologist-to-student ratio was one per 1,750 students. She said the need for youth mental health services has never been greater.

“When we think about the rural areas of our state that do not have access to the mental health providers that you might see in some of our larger cities, then it’s just critical that we find a way to be able to support all of our families and all of our students, regardless of where they live in our state,” Blatt said.

Five West Virginia counties participate in Project AWARE, a 2020 to 2025 federally funded initiative to expand school-based mental health services in West Virginia. Blatt said she heard feedback that there wasn’t enough support for parents in the program, so she started looking for something to fill the gaps.

“We started investigating and looking around the various programs and was introduced to the Cook Center and their parentguidance.org opportunity that they had, and got positive feedback when they connected us with some other areas that were using it and so we decided to pilot it,” Blatt said.

The pilot began in Cabell, Clay, Harrison, Logan, Wirt counties, allowing students, parents and school personnel to log into parentguidance.org and peruse the catalog of courses 24/7 for free.

“The counties and the feedback we were getting was that it was received very positively,” Blatt said. “It was easy to use. It wasn’t hard for parents to log into the system and to gain access. And just having something that our schools could provide to parents was really starting to make an impact.”

After the success of the pilot, the West Virginia Department of Education entered a contract with the Cook Center to make ParentGuidance.org available to families at no cost to the user.

According to a May press release, across the country, 361 districts and 6,308 schools are using the organization’s model offering more than 3.3 million families in 46 states access to services.

“We’re paying about $3 million for a three-year contract for these services,” Blatt said. “For all parents, grandparents, foster parents, guardians of our students, and we’re utilizing the COVID relief funding that we received from the federal government to cover this contract at this time.”

While these free resources are available to all students, parents and school staff, they are online resources and not all West Virginians have access to reliable internet.

A 2020 survey conducted by WVU found that 83 percent of West Virginians have access to the internet in their homes. Of those reporting they do not have access to the internet in their homes, 33 percent reported accessing the internet through an internet-enabled mobile device like a smartphone or tablet.

That survey also found, in West Virginia, those with low incomes and those with lower educational attainment have the lowest rates of access to the internet.

Older residents also reported lower rates of access and ability to use the internet, which could be an issue for some grandfamilies trying to access these mental health resources.

Blatt says West Virginia’s internet connectivity was first addressed by the Department of Education when the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to close and instruction to be conducted virtually.

“Most instruction went virtual at that time, we did some partnerships and actually put in public internet access points in the parking lots of every public school, library, higher education facility, and even our National Guard armories around the state,” Blatt said.

Blatt said many of these public internet access points are still operational, but if a parent or guardian doesn’t have access to the internet, they can contact their school administrator, counselor or teacher.

“There’s a lot of programs out there that will provide a hotspot for our families or some type of connectivity so that they can utilize the resources whether it’s our one on one computing programs with our students, or if it’s like parentguidance.org,” Blatt said.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

Us & Them Encore: Mental Health Crisis Behind Bars In W.Va.

Hundreds of thousands of people with mental illnesses are caught up in a criminal justice system that was never intended to treat them. This encore Us & Them episode was part of a series that was honored with a first place award from Virginia’s Associated Press Broadcasters for “Public Service Through Journalism.” In this report, we hear what it’s like to live with mental illness behind bars in the Mountain State.

Overcrowding and understaffing have pushed West Virginia’s prisons and jails to what many believe is a crisis point.

On this episode of Us & Them, we hear what incarceration is like for someone in a mental health crisis. Hundreds of thousands of people with mental illnesses are caught up in a criminal justice system that was never intended to treat them.

In a recent special session, West Virginia lawmakers earmarked $30 million to address staffing shortages and provide pay raises and retention bonuses to correctional staff. There is also $100 million for deferred facility maintenance. However, a new lawsuit against the state on behalf of West Virginia inmates, demands more than three times that amount is needed.

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the Just Trust, the West Virginia Humanities Council, the CRC Foundation and the Daywood Foundation.

Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.

Bishop Mark Brennan and Jeff Allen, director of West Virginia Council of Churches, listen to Beverly Sharp, founder of the REACH Initiative in West Virginia at a West Virginia Council of Churches press conference on the subject of the criminal justice system in West Virginia.

*Photo Credit: Kyle Vass*

Lara Lawson from Milton in Cabell County, W.Va., has her master’s degree in sociology and is passionate about social justice issues. She has also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and manages that condition. Lawson told *Us & Them* host Trey Kay about her experience during a manic period of her illness when she was placed in Western Regional Jail and deprived of mental health medication. While Lawson said she was not suicidal – she recalled being put in a suicide watch cell for observation.

*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

*Us & Them* host Trey Kay met with investigative reporter Mary Beth Pfeiffer at her home in the Hudson Valley of New York to talk about her book *Crazy In America: The Hidden Tragedy of Our Criminalized Mentally Ill*. Pfeiffer’s book shows how people suffering from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, clinical depression and other serious psychological illnesses are regularly incarcerated because medical care is not available. Once behind bars, she reports that people with mental illness are frequently punished for behavior that is psychotic, not criminal. Pfeiffer’s reporting examines a society that incarcerates its weakest and most vulnerable citizens — causing some to emerge sicker and more damaged.

*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Ashley Omps testified at the West Virginia State Capitol before the Senate Oversight Committee on Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority. She told this group of powerful strangers about the worst experience in her life — a time when she was incarcerated in Eastern Regional Jail after an intense, traumatic event and said she was denied mental health treatment. Omps said it was uncomfortable to share her personal story, but it made a difference. West Virginia law has changed, because people like Ashley took their stories to the capitol.

*Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Discussion: Parental Interventions For Children’s Mental Health

One in seven West Virginian children experience anxiety or depression. Appalachia Health News Reporter, Emily Rice spoke with Keith Schemper, adviser for Psychosocial Support at Save the Children about how parents can intervene.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Emily: So what does the mental health landscape look like in West Virginia?

Schemper: In West Virginia, more than one in seven children, so nearly 45,000 kids, are experiencing anxiety or depression, which is higher than the national average by more than 2 percent. In West Virginia, Save the Children partners with schools in six rural counties to provide early learning programs and resources to children, families and communities, fill in critical gaps and supports for kids and communities where child poverty is as high as 39 percent.

Emily: What steps can be taken to kind of ease the accessibility of mental health care for children in an area like West Virginia?

Schemper: Well, obviously, overall, we need to provide more accessible support, especially in rural communities, you know, but also, we need more touch points. When statistics look bleak, and the issue feels overwhelming, we need to do what we’re doing here today, which is to bring awareness to mental health issues, and then focus on what each of us can do to support ourselves, you know, in our families.

Emily: What are some steps that a parent could take to open up the conversation about mental health for their children?

Schemper: Some steps that you could take to open up the conversation would be things like connecting frequently with your child. So having those regular check-in times, maybe during the morning or evening routines, asking open-ended questions while doing activities together? So not asking “How was your day?” As a child, I would answer that question “fine” probably 99 percent of the time, but rather than asking, “What happened at school today?” or “Tell me about your day?”

Other things you can do is prepare your children for new situations by talking through any small or big changes that are coming up in their lives. It could be the first day of kindergarten, an older sibling going to college or getting a shot at the doctors, and this lets them know what they can anticipate and also can help ease their worry and anxiety. Another step could be to validate your child’s feelings. So telling them it’s okay to feel and express their emotions. And you could even model this as a parent and allow them to identify and name their feelings and work with them on coping skills. And then also just talking through the tough time. So being honest about the facts and using language and terms that your child understands and acknowledging how hard, sad, frustrating what they’re going through must be providing comfort and coming up with solutions together.

Emily: What are some signs of depression and anxiety for parents to look out for?

Schemper: Parents and caregivers know the children in their lives best. So, at the most basic level, they should be looking for changes in behavior from what they would consider typical. So for example, with depression, this might look like you know, feeling sad, hopeless, irritable, a lot of the time, when maybe that’s not typical. Not wanting to do or enjoy doing things they typically find fun and then showing changes, you know, eating patterns, sleeping patterns, or energy levels.

Emily: How would a parent establish that safe space?

Schemper: For one by meeting them at their eye level if they’re younger children, so you’re not hovering over them, by validating their feelings again, asking open ended questions and asking them what their feelings, to help them identify an appropriate emotional label for that feeling.

Emily: And so could you speak to why it is important for parents to take time to take care of their own mental health and what steps they can take to do that, for the benefit of their children as well as themselves?

Schemper: Yeah, when parents support their own needs, they’ll be better able to support the needs of the children in their lives. So this includes maintaining the routine for yourself. Sometimes it’s just simple things. It’s good eating, sleeping, physical activity patterns and regular pulse checking with your own feelings and emotions.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

W.Va. Correction Commissioner Says Jails System Improving

Corrections Commissioner William Marshall said for the first time since COVID-19 hit, jail and prison guard vacancies have fallen below 1,000 – standing at 990.

We have a class of 55 right now that will graduate next month,” Marshall said. “Our previous class we graduated was 45. And the class before that was 53. So we’ve made some significant hires and some significant impact when it comes to recruiting”

Correctional guard vacancies were recently up to 1,100. Speaking Monday before the Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional Jails and Prisons, Marshall said the $21.1 million the legislature approved for pay raises is helping grow guard academy classes and retirees are coming back to work.

Marshall said changes in the six week class – getting recruits out on the floors at two and a half weeks – gives recruits and supervisors decision making experiences.

“It gives them an opportunity to see if this job fits them or not,” Marshall said. “It also gives the superintendent and the lieutenants and sergeants the opportunity to see how they respond on the floor, how they respond around inmates.”

Marshall said the new academy teaching plan also allows savings when it comes to training.

“We’re not training someone for six weeks at the academy, then they show up the first week in a facility like this and think, ‘This is not what I thought it was,’ and they’re walking out the door,” Marshall said. “We’ve already spent $18 to $20,000 on training. And so this has really greatly helped that.”

Marshal said 330 to 340 National Guard members, under emergency orders, continue to staff non-inmate contact posts at correctional facilities.

“We’re working towards trying to eliminate as many of those as we can going forward,” Marshall said. “As long as we continue to hire, we continue to bring new recruits in.”

He said a new comprehensive recruiting campaign is just underway, including a young public information officer hiree who is well versed in social media.

“We’ve started a new campaign with the Department of Commerce in regards to recruiting,” Marshall said. “We’re on the verge of releasing a new stand alone logo for our division, to try to attract some of the newer, younger generation of workers that would want to come and work for us, whether it be officers, counselors, therapists or office assistants.”

Marshall told the committee that, while a few facilities are at or just under capacity, some overcrowding continues. He said North Central Regional Jail in Doddridge County, with a population of more than 800, is about 300 inamtes over capacity.

“It’s just such a hotbed of an area right now when it comes to drug crimes and crimes in general that are feeding into North Central,” Marshall said.

Marshall said over the last calendar year, there was a point where they hired about 700 people, but lost about 650.

“Those numbers are starting to slow down,” he said. “Obviously because of the new pay plan. I’ve received several waivers recently, which is a good sign for the academy, which means we got people coming back that are already academy trained.”

Overcrowding and understaffing, along with physical conditions in the jail system, have sparked numerous lawsuits, alleging dangerous and deplorable living facilities.

Marshall said $60 million in eight deferred maintenance projects are underway statewide.

“We’ve also been working with some energy savings groups with the potential of working with them in order to get some additional projects completed in our jails and prisons and juvenile centers as well,” Marshall said.

He mentioned one project that would have a company set up a HVAC class for inmates at Salem.

“That company is also looking at fixing a lot of our HVAC systems going forward that are ready,” Marshall said. “Instead of trying to fix them by just completely replacing them.”

He said a new initiative called Desert Waters specifically offers mental mental health care for corrections officers.

“It’s another tool for our people to be able to talk to people,” Marshall said. “To be able to share experiences with people who actually speak their language and know what they are saying,”

Marshall told the interim committee that he’s hopeful, with new recruiting efforts, pay raises, retention plans and maintenance upgrades, the emergency crisis within the corrections system will lessen over time.

“The one thing that I knew coming into this job in January is, we were never going to conquer this,” Marshall said. “It will constantly be a challenge that we’ve accepted and I think we’re heading in the right direction.”

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.

Us & Them: Mental Health Crisis Behind Bars In West Virginia

America stopped institutionalizing people with mental illness decades ago. But now, many are caught up in a system not meant for them. On this episode of Us & Them, we’ll hear what it’s like to live with mental illness behind bars in the Mountain State.

Overcrowding and understaffing have pushed West Virginia’s prisons and jails to what many believe is a crisis point.

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the Just Trust, the West Virginia Humanities Council, the CRC Foundation and the Daywood Foundation.

Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.