skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump and China call off the divorce; Court ruling allows transgender troop removal to proceed; NC University provides guaranteed opportunity to students in struggling region; Program elimination, job loss as DOGE cuts funds for NM's AmeriCorps.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Advocates say Republicans' scaled back Medicaid cuts still put too much in jeopardy. President Trump defends getting a luxury jet from Qatar, and frustration grows among museum executives who say White House is trying to erase history.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Volunteers with AmeriCorps are reeling from near elimination of the 30-year-old program, Head Start has dodged demise but funding cuts are likely, moms are the most vulnerable when extreme weather hits, and in California, bullfrogs await their 15-minutes of fame.

School services could help IL further address youth mental health

play audio
Play

Thursday, January 30, 2025   

About half of youths experiencing depression in Illinois are not receiving treatment. While the state ranks fairly well nationwide when it comes to youth mental health, officials say there is room for improvement.

Andrea Durbin, CEO, Illinois Collaboration on Youth, said anxiety and depression are at an all-time high, especially with LGBTQ youths and those in immigrant families.

"This is a time for us to be compassionate and empathetic and to embrace folks who are feeling this way and to be supportive, and understand where this is coming from and what our responsibility as adults is to protect them," she said.

The state's Children's Behavioral Healthcare Transformation Initiative passed in 2022. It emphasizes the importance of proactive mental-health screening in schools, similar to vision and hearing tests. Now, a new state law requires yearly mental-health screenings for seventh through 12th grade students.

Despite this progress, barriers to community-based mental-health services for youths still exist and include cost, transportation, insurance issues and stigma.

Angela Kimball, chief advocacy officer with Inseparable, said school-based services that provide different levels of support are one of the most effective tools for supporting student mental health and improving access to care.

"We are starting to see some improvements in student mental health, and that's very encouraging, but the need is still very, very high," she explained. "So we can't let our foot off the pedal now. We really need to do everything we can to build the workforce and to make sure students are supported."

She said youth who get school-based services are six times more likely to complete treatment and have improved long-term education and work outcomes. Yet currently, most state schools don't have the recommended ratio of mental-health staff to students. State-funded programs such as the Behavioral Health Workforce Center are working to address the provider shortage. Kimball added that state policies and initiatives that continue to provide solutions to any roadblocks to mental-health services are crucial to providing youths the care they need.

Disclosure: Inseparable contributes to our fund for reporting on Criminal Justice, Health Issues, Mental Health, Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Many municipalities are now testing drinking water for PFAS but contamination is often widespread and difficult to remove. (show999/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A new study from Michigan State University researchers revealed lasting PFAS effects in a Michigan community's drinking water near an old paper mill l…


Environment

play sound

Supporters of the Campaign for Affordable Power are pressing state lawmakers to pass a series of reform bills aimed at big investor-owned utilities li…

Environment

play sound

An environmental group is voicing concern about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to tackle PFAS pollution. The EPA recently …


The Mayo Clinic reported most people born or living in the U.S. before 1957 are immune to measles because they've had the infection and can only get it once. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

At least two people have tested positive for measles in Illinois and public health officials are working to combat misinformation surrounding vaccines…

Social Issues

play sound

Keeping more renters in their homes is one goal of a new Utah initiative. The Utah Housing Coalition has formed a Landlord and Community Partners …

Two-thirds of Virginians who receive SNAP benefits have a child in the house, and 36% are in working families. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A new bill in the U.S. House of Representatives could make it easier for people to get job training while they're receiving federal food assistance…

Social Issues

play sound

Fear, shame, and helplessness are feelings Minnesota fraud victims describe after losing their life savings to a scam. They're hopeful about a path …

Social Issues

play sound

The Pentagon will begin removing transgender troops from the military after the Supreme Court ruled last week that a ban could be enforced as lawsuits…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021