A new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center addresses reforms to address mental health issues for youth in Arkansas and nationwide.

The group's Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Task Force focuses on three key areas: early prevention and support to address mental health and substance use, improving access to quality care and tackling the effects of social media to promote safer and more positive online interactions.

Michele Gazda, health program associate director for the center, said before and during the pandemic, drug overdose numbers nationwide doubled but the numbers are starting to come down.

"Very much a testament to some of the recent policy actions around things like naloxone access and just access to care in general," Gazda asserted. "But I think there's definitely more work to do on that front."

According to the latest data released in the Annie E. Casey Kids Count Data Book, between 2016 and 2020, Arkansas had the third-highest increase in childhood depression and anxiety.

Black children in Arkansas between the ages of 3 and 17 had the highest rate of anxiety or depression at 17% compared to 14.8% of white children. Gazda noted the stigma around youth mental health is changing.

"Folks are much more open and comfortable talking about it," Gazda observed. "I think with youth substance use, that's not as much the case and so I'm very happy to see in the lame duck session a bit of a head nod to some of the challenges around addressing substance use in youths and young adults."

Nationwide, youth mental health hospitalizations increased by 124% from 2016 to 2022.


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Mental health groups are stepping up to help victims of the Los Angeles area wildfires deal with the extreme stress brought on by the disaster.

The California Parent and Youth Helpline is beginning to work at evacuation centers and is looking to partner with community or government entities to provide victims with emotional support.

Lisa Pion-Berlin, president and CEO of Parents Anonymous, which runs the helpline, said people can call, text or live chat with a trained counselor.

"That emotional support really needs to be handled by an experienced professional, who's trained to listen and to help people deal with the immediate angst and depression," Pion-Berlin asserted. "Because they don't know where to turn."

The helpline is open 12 hours a day at 877-427-2736 to guide people through the chaos, desperation and fear. And the group's website caparentyouthhelpline.org will also connect people to ongoing online support groups.

Pion-Berlin pointed out Parents Anonymous would like to expand if fire relief funding becomes available. However, the service may be in jeopardy, because Gov. Gavin Newsom left the helpline out of his January budget proposal.

Now, with entire neighborhoods wiped out, she said the need for mental health assistance is greater than ever.

"Because they no longer have their community. They never don't have their school, they don't have the safe place they lived in," Pion-Berlin outlined. "They're displaced, and the impact is devastating."

Parents Anonymous is asking lawmakers to continue to support the helpline as they negotiate the final budget this spring. The California Parent and Youth Helpline received a two-year appropriation of $4.7 million in the 2023 budget. If it is not renewed, the funding will run out this summer.

The Bipartisan Policy Center has released a new report on reforming the way youth mental health services are delivered, in Michigan and nationwide.

Recommendations from the Youth Mental Health and Substance Abuse Task Force include the need to grow the behavioral health workforce and make it easier for providers to join insurance networks. The report revealed nationwide, teen mental health worsened from 2013 to 2023, with young people reporting feelings of sadness and hopelessness rising from 30% to 40%.

Michele Gazda, health program associate director for the center, shared the thought process behind the recommendations.

"The things that work for adults getting into care may or not work the same for kids and their families," Gazda explained. "Part of what the task force set out to do is make sure that the recommendations were very actionable, that they can be achieved."

The report recommended Congress fund grants of up to $2 million over three years to create 10 regional centers focused on building the behavioral health workforce.

Another recommendation was government agencies should work together to gather better data on young people who are incarcerated and find ways to reduce youth suicide, including in jails, prisons and after release.

Gazda pointed out during the pandemic and the couple of years before, overdose deaths skyrocketed. However, the numbers have since come down and she credited one important change.

"Fortunately during the pandemic, if there's one silver lining, it's that youth mental health has experienced a bit of a destigmatization and folks are much more open and comfortable talking about it than they used to be," Gazda noted. "I think with youth substance use, that's not as much the case."

The task force report also recommended doing more to focus on young people with the most serious mental health needs.


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Thousands of calls to Texas suicide hotlines are going unanswered as funding for call centers is millions of dollars short of what advocates said they need to keep up with demand.

The suicide rate in Texas has grown significantly in the past 20 years and a federal mandate to run the 988 crisis hotline is putting pressure on the system. Mental health advocates said changes to the state and federal system of funding crisis services are urgently needed.

Lyssette Galvan, public policy director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Texas, said crisis care needs more respect from the system.

"It's following the successful model of 911 funding," Galvan pointed out. "We're aiming to set up a precedent that 988 should be in parity with 911 and that all emergency services should be treated the same."

A bill filed by state Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, would create a state trust fund for 988 services similar to how 911 emergency services are handled. Galvan noted the fund, paid by cell phone fees, would expand capacity, increase counselor pay and make the latest technologies available.

Between January and August, 18,500 calls to Texas' 988 system were abandoned. Senate Bill 188, prefiled for the upcoming 89th Texas Legislature, would close the gap for Texans who call a hotline but are put on hold or transferred and cannot talk with a counselor.

"We do have a lot of stakeholder support," Galvan emphasized. "Almost every day I have somebody emailing me and asking me about the bill or if I know about the bill. Even within the local mental health authorities, there's a lot of buy-in."

Galvan added a significant part of the American Rescue Plan Act's funding for the 988 system has expired, and states will need to create permanent financing by the end of 2026.

"As the federal support decreases, it's time for Texans to really step up and ensure that we're helping our fellow neighbor in crisis," Galvan urged. "Our communities deserve nothing less than a complete, accessible, and reliable crisis response system."


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