President’s State of the Union calls for increased focus on student mental health

In his first State of the Union presented earlier this month, President Biden outlined a strategy to address the national mental health crisis that has come to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic. Young people have been particularly impacted as losses from COVID and disruptions in routines and relationships have led to increased social isolation, anxiety, and learning loss. A study by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) found that more than half of parents express concern over their children’s mental well-being. Prior to the pandemic in 2019, one in three high school students and half of female students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, an overall increase of 40 percent from 2009.
 
During his address to the nation, President Biden announced a national mental health strategy to strengthen system capacity, connect more Americans to care, and create a continuum of support –transforming our health and social services infrastructure to address mental health holistically and equitably. The president’s full mental health agenda takes a comprehensive approach, and specifically includes strategies that take into account the important role of community-based and youth-serving organizations in helping support young people in school and during the hours when school is out:

• Embed and co-locate mental health and substance use providers into community-based settings. Expanding pathways to care also means creating new, low-barrier access points, in settings where Americans already live, work, and play. To that end, the president’s FY23 budget will include $50 million to pilot models that embed and co-locate mental health services into non-traditional settings like libraries, community centers, schools, and homeless shelters.
• Expand access to mental health support in schools and colleges and universities. The Department of Education (ED) will continue to support states, school districts, colleges and universities, in using relief funds – including the more than $160 billion invested by the American Rescue Plan in the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) and Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) – to address the mental health needs of students, including by training, recruiting, and retaining more school- and college and university-based mental health professionals. With the help of ESSER funds, schools have already seen a 65 percent increase in social workers, and a 17 percent increase in counselors. To help schools sustain these roles, the Department of Health and Human Services will make it easier for school-based mental health professionals to seek reimbursement from Medicaid, and the president’s FY23 budget will propose $1 billion to help schools hire additional counselors and school psychologists and other health professionals.
• Set students up for success. When students struggle in school, it impacts their well-being. A comprehensive strategy to support student wellness must also include efforts to address the impact of the pandemic on student learning, particularly on students most impacted by the pandemic, and create supportive learning environments. ED will continue to help states and school districts use the $122 billion in ARP ESSER funds for this purpose. Specifically, the Department will help states and districts use the funds to provide high-quality afterschool and summer learning and enrichment programs and invest in other evidence-based strategies that will help our students recover from the pandemic. Districts nationwide are already using ARP ESSER funds to invest in these strategies. To support this work, we need more caring adults taking on roles supporting students. The president is calling on Americans nationwide to take on roles as tutors and mentors to help our students recover. The investments the president will propose in his FY23 budget will support and sustain efforts that set up students for success. This includes more than doubling funding for Title I, a ten-fold increase for the Full-Service Community Schools program, and an historic $3.3 billion increase for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act grants that support PK-12 children with disabilities and $450 million for IDEA PART C, which supports early intervention services for infants and toddlers.
• Expand early childhood and school-based intervention services and supports. Half of all mental disorders begin before the age of 14. And when systems act to promote well-being at early developmental stages, youth reap the mental and emotional benefits for years to come. The American Rescue Plan dedicated millions of dollars to youth mental health. The president’s FY23 budget will build on that investment and propose to make historic investments in youth mental health services, including more than $70 million in infant and early childhood mental health programs. Additionally, the president’s FY23 budget will propose to dramatically expand funding for community schools by increasing funding for the Full-Service Community School program by more than $400 million dollars relative to current levels – a more than ten-fold increase. Community schools provide a range of wraparound supports to students and their families, including mental health services and other integrated student supports.
• Increase mental health resources for justice-involved populations. The Department of Justice will expand funding and technical assistance to local communities and corrections systems to provide behavioral health care, case management services, family services, and other transitional programming for adults returning from incarceration into the community. 
• Train social and human services professionals in basic mental health skills. The Department of Housing and Urban Development will launch a national effort to train housing counselors, housing-based services coordinators, and Fair Housing grantee staff to recognize the signs of emotional distress and to connect residents with mental health resources. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide training on mental health resources and communication strategies to Farm Production and Conservation Mission Area field employees, who serve farmers and ranchers, as well as incorporate updated mental health information into its online resource center for State, local and clinic staff administering the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). ED will continue to highlight the effectiveness of Mental Health First Aid training for educators, so that they can better support their students and one another. And the Department of Health & Human Services will provide additional training support to Head Start, Early Head Start, and home visiting grantees to spot and address mental health challenges among children.

Throughout the pandemic, surveys of afterschool providers have consistently found that afterschool and summer learning programs have been stepping up to meet the needs of young people, including helping to support their overall health and well-being. We are hopeful that the investments and strategies outlined by the president can leverage the out of school time field’s commitment to young people, with a goal of ensuring every student in America has the wrap around supports and engaging opportunities they need to be successful.