Michigan superintendents are trying to balance physical technology to secure schools, with building stronger mental health supports for students. They say school safety continues to be something they want to improve.
Michigan has lost hundreds of mental health treatment beds for kids in the juvenile justice and foster care systems due to staff shortages. Officials hope to boost staffing by offering steadier funding to residential treatment centers.
Michigan has taken scores of in-patient beds offline since April because it can’t hire enough staff to care for patients. State-run facilities treat the most severely ill patients, making the job draining and at times perilous.
In House testimony Thursday, backers argued that the bill, which applies to all patients in crisis, will likely most help children and teens, who sometimes waited in ERs for weeks during the pandemic to get the mental health care they needed.
About 700 Michigan schools have adopted the TRAILS program to help students manage their emotions, de-escalate conflict and make better decisions. The program received a huge funding increase in the latest budget deal.
If you are suicidal or otherwise in a mental health crisis, you can now call or text 988 to connect with a trained counselor at a nearby crisis center. It’s an alternative to 911, which often involves police and can sometimes escalate a crisis.
In approving the state’s education budget early Friday morning, the GOP legislature and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also added investment in school safety measures and the teacher pension system, thanks to unexpectedly high state revenues this year.
The pandemic intensified a long-festering youth mental health crisis and left schools searching for answers. In Michigan, 600 schools have adopted a social-emotional learning curriculum known as TRAILS – Transforming Research into Action to Improve the lives of students. It is poised to grow further – if the Legislature approves $150 million in new funding.
The 15 Michigan counties with the highest suicide rates from 2005 through 2020 were all rural. Experts point to isolation, job loss and lack of mental health care as key contributors to rural despair.
The pandemic exacerbated a slow-burning mental health crisis in Michigan’s schools. Whitmer wants to open 40 centers to help. Advocates say that’s not enough.
An unprecedented $6 billion in federal COVID relief money has come to Michigan to help schools, with mental-health support one of its pillars. It’s a lot of money, but young students will need a lot of help.
Some argue the state should shift responsibility of managing care and costs to Michigan’s for-profit insurers; others say money motives of insurance companies would cut into care for the most vulnerable.
At Michigan Medicine, hospitalizations of young people, nearly all female, more than doubled. Possible links to the pandemic were also noted at Beaumont Health in metro Detroit and at a children’s hospital in Grand Rapids.
Two GOP lawmakers say their plans cut bureaucracy and save millions of dollars. Some worry, though, that any reform that shifts care to the private sector or distant agencies will compromise vulnerable patients.
Experts already recognize that treating severe mental illness among young people is a problem in the state. But kids showing signs of pandemic-related isolation, depression and other conditions also struggle to find help.
More psychologists and social workers in schools. Early screening. Loan forgiveness for child psychiatrists serving rural areas. Fixing a strained system will take time. But COVID stimulus funds can speed up efforts across the Midwest.
Hospital ERs are being upended by a surge of children and adolescents in mental distress during COVID. Staff bring in snacks or queue up Netflix to keep them occupied as they seek beds in psychiatric centers. Private insurance can make the task harder.
Across the Midwest, there are not nearly enough psychiatrists, therapists or direct-care staff to treat a rising tide of young people spiraling into crisis. For these families, the strain can seem unbearable.
From psychiatrists to counselors to direct care workers, health agencies are unable to fill jobs as depression and substance abuse cases increase. Some state and federal programs could help nudge more doctors and therapists to underserved regions of the state.
