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Partner News

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Some Oklahoma parents turn kids over to the state after struggling to get mental health care for them

December 22, 2024
The sign outside of Youth Services of Tulsa. The non-profit agency runs an emergency youth shelter. DYLAN GOFORTH/THE FRONTIER

Lack of oversight, coordination hinder efforts to reform Arizona’s rise in maternal mortality

December 22, 2024
AZCIR Staff

‘Not knowing where to go’: Montana’s sparse landscape for alcohol detox

December 20, 2024
An emergency department sign in Missoula, Montana on Thursday, December 12, 2024. With very few treatment options available in Montana, hospital emergency departments are often the only place people can go when they are experiencing alcohol withdrawal. However, patients often end up leaving without the medication they need to manage withdrawal symptoms and they typically aren’t referred to inpatient or outpatient treatment programs. Credit: John Stember

Youth mental health services expand in San Antonio and statewide

Five children walk together on a sunny day. They each have backpacks, probably leaving school.
©Norma Mortenson

Texas Public Radio: The Source by Bonnie Petrie, September 14, 2022: In a unanimous decision earlier this month, the San Antonio City Council voted to create a framework to increase mental health care access across the city. The city will utilize $23 million from the American Rescue Plan Act. How will the funds be disbursed? What age groups will the city focus its efforts on?

Later on The Source, young Texans can access mental health services through Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT).

During the pandemic, some students experienced poor mental health such as anxiety and depression due to loneliness and isolation. Greater access for youth mental health services has been a goal long before the pandemic’s onset.

In 2019, the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium was created after Senate Bill 10 passed in the 86th Texas Legislature. Its purpose is to improve mental health and mental health care systems for children and adolescents.

What are the plans from the local government to help those in need of mental health services? How will the program continue to be financed after ARPA funds run out?

What should representatives focus on in the next legislative session to help improve youth mental health care? What gaps exist in Texas legislation when it comes to youth access to mental health services?

What signs should we look for in children to assess their mental health? What should parents be aware of? How can a parent or child in need of services find access?

Guests:

  • Melissa Cabello Havrda, San Antonio City Council Representative for District 6, chair of the Public Safety Committee
  • Dr. Laurel Williams, D.O., professor of psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, medical director of the Centralized Operation Support Hub, which supports the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium
  • Reena Pardiwala, PA-C, clinical director of the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine at UT Health San Antonio
  • Josette Saxton, director of Mental Health Policy at Texans Care for Children

Listen to the TPR: The Source piece here.