David Robinson, the health care reporter for the USA TODAY Network in New York, has today’s feature article about the mental health crisis facing New York’s youth and its dire effects on one Westchester family. Robinson’s nearly 20-year career as an investigative reporter has garnered state and national awards for coverage of the opioid epidemic, hospital and nursing home abuses, health inequality, COVID-19 and emergency response failures.
We asked him about the mental health crisis and what’s to come.
The mental health crisis facing youth may seem to have come out of the blue. How much of it is due to kids faring worse, as opposed to growing social awareness of mental health?
It’s a mix of both. Pandemic-era concerns about kids being harmed by remote learning, social isolation and societal disruptions exposed more people to mounting evidence of the national mental health crisis, which has steadily worsened over the past decade.
The story of the Sharma family, a key part of your article, shows that families in need lack treatment options? Do you see the situation improving?
There are signs of improvement, including some service expansions since the $1 billion state government investment in improving mental health services launched last year. But a study released in March by the state Comptroller’s Office revealed ongoing struggles in meeting adult mental health needs, which could delay efforts to plug gaps in the youth mental health system.
Is it up to government to spur more mental health treatment for youth or is it up to the healthcare world? Or both?
Once again, it’s both because health care investments overall remain intertwined with state and federal government policy. For example, Gov. Kathy Hochul last year directed hospitals to reopen 850 inpatient psychiatric beds, but many health care systems would not act until the state increased the Medicaid reimbursement rate by 20% for care provided in those beds. Put differently, health care operators require government funding to prioritize mental health care over more profitable services, such as specialty surgeries.
What role do schools have to play in identifying mental health concerns and directing kids and families for appropriate treatment?
State health officials and hospitals alike have emphasized the importance of getting more schools involved in addressing mental health issues affecting youth. That includes millions of dollars in state funding that has supported the opening of more than 137 new school-based mental health clinics, bringing the total statewide above 1,200.
There is so much focus now on cellphones and social media. Do experts really think that less screen time would help kids’ mental health?
Many experts described a more nuanced approach to this than simply cutting down on screen time. They acknowledged the crucial role that technology plays today and asserted we should focus on teaching kids to use it — including cellphones and social media — in healthy ways. Put simply, help kids use technology to improve their education and well-being, and eliminate the ways it harms them.
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