Public schools across the United States are scrambling to manage students’ mental health ― and the problem is only getting worse.
One in five kids between ages 3 and 17 shows signs of a mental health disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The nonprofit Mental Health America has noted a 3 percent increase in cases of children with severe depression over the past five years. And the number of kids hospitalized for thoughts of suicide or attempted suicide has been rising for the last decade, according to a new study.
Early identification and care are critical, and some schools have dedicated mental health professionals available for students ― but these workers are overstretched and budgets are tight, especially in rural areas, meaning many kids go overlooked. And families don’t always have adequate insurance coverage for treatment. Meanwhile, a staggering 63 percent of children with major depression reported that they did not receive care, according to Mental Health America, putting them at risk of lifelong learning issues and social problems.
Samantha Boatwright, a licensed clinical social worker who works with public school kids, knows these challenges firsthand. She offers counseling to students in Georgia ― ranked one of the worst states for mental health care access ― through the state-funded Georgia Apex Program (GAP). Launched in 2015, the program has partnered with local mental health organizations to bring services like Boatwright’s to more than 300 schools across the state. It has reached thousands of kids who said they’d never received mental health services before.