As we celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to every one of you who invests time and resources to address this critical health need that impacts everyone, regardless of race or zip code. By working hand in hand with our community, we create a comprehensive and nurturing environment where young minds flourish.
Together, we will continue our focus on increasing access to quality care by increasing awareness, removing barriers, and dismantling stigmas related to mental wellness. No organization can do it alone, but together, we can transform lives.
Warmest regards, Linda Jennings Community Education Building, CEO
Suicide is a leading cause of death among young people in the United States. Rates of youth suicide deaths were rising before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic began, so it is critical to understand how the pandemic impacted this public health crisis. In a new study supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, researchers examined national youth suicide trends and characteristics in the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A research team led by Jeffrey Bridge, Ph.D., Donna Ruch, Ph.D., and Lisa Horowitz, Ph.D., MPH, analyzed national suicide data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers first identified all U.S. youth aged 5 to 24 years with suicide listed as the cause of death over the first 10 months of the pandemic (March 1, 2020–December 31, 2020). They calculated the total and monthly suicide deaths overall and by sex, age, race and ethnicity, and suicide method. Then, they examined how many young people died by suicide during the first 10 months of the pandemic and compared it to an estimated number of suicide deaths during that same period had the pandemic not occurred (calculated using data from the previous 5 years).
The researchers identified 5,568 youth who died by suicide during the first 10 months of the pandemic, which was higher than the expected number of deaths had the pandemic not occurred. Higher than expected suicide rates were found a few months into the pandemic, starting in July 2020.
The increase in suicide deaths varied significantly by sex, age, race and ethnicity, and suicide method. During the pandemic, there were higher than expected suicide deaths among males, preteens aged 5–12 years, young adults aged 18–24 years, non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaskan Native youth, and non-Hispanic Black youth as compared to before the pandemic. Suicide deaths involving firearms were also higher than expected.
The significantly higher number of suicide deaths reported for certain racial and ethnic groups, specifically non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaskan Native and non-Hispanic Black youth, highlights ongoing disparities in rates of suicide that the pandemic may have exacerbated. The increase in suicide deaths among preteens also suggests that more attention may need to be paid to this age group, who tend to be understudied in suicide prevention research and have different developmental needs than older adolescents and young adults.
This research is only a first step in examining the pandemic’s impact on youth mental health and points to several areas for further investigation. First, it is possible that other events or factors unrelated to the pandemic that occurred during the study’s time frame contributed to the rise in youth suicide deaths but were unmeasured. Second, research is still needed to identify the underlying causes of the increase in youth suicide deaths, both overall and for specific groups. Third, the COVID-19 pandemic period analyzed in this study was limited to 10 months in 2020 and does not reflect longer-term trends in youth suicide that may have changed as the pandemic wore on. Last, suicide deaths for some groups may have been underreported due to inaccurate or misclassified data; ongoing monitoring of suicide rates will help clarify the suicide risk faced by young people in the United States.
This study shows that the pandemic impacted youth suicide rates, but the impact was not the same for everyone and varied based on sex, age, and race and ethnicity. As such, the authors suggest that it may be helpful to broadly implement suicide prevention efforts in settings that serve young people, while also tailoring those efforts to address the disparities faced by specific groups. Moreover, given the extended duration of the pandemic and its ongoing impact on young people in the United States, it will be important to monitor long-term trends in suicide rates associated with COVID-19 and identify factors driving the increased risk for suicide among some people.
DGS continues to experience steady growth. The agency is large enough to make an impact in the community, yet not too big to lose a caring work environment where employees can make a difference. With the wide variety of positions and programs, employees have several options to develop their careers.
Our employees tell us Delaware Guidance Services (DGS) is a great place to work. There is opportunity for work-life balance, challenging work, and a supportive and stimulating work environment. Employees at DGS have a great opportunity to make a significant impact in the lives of children throughout the state of Delaware, on the agency, and within their careers.
We offer a comprehensive and competitive benefits package to our employees, including:
Competitive compensation
Incentive pay plan for certain clinical staff positions
Medical and dental insurance
Health savings accounts (HSAs)
Life, AD&D, LTD, STD
Paid vacation, sick, and holidays
403(b) plan with match and generous contribution
Employee contributions are required for some benefits. Delaware Guidance Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer
We’d like to thank all who came out to celebrate our partnership (and new space) at the Community Building. This new collaboration only strengthens our ability to provide quality behavioral health services for our Delaware youth and their families.
Delaware Guidance Services for Children and Youth, Inc. (DGS) received a donation of $25,000 from the American Gift Fund. The funds will be used to support critical behavioral health services for children and youth in Delaware.
In a press release Jill Rogers, executive director of DGS said, “We are so grateful to the American Gift Fund for their generous donation. Children and families are facing unprecedented challenges as they learn and grow. Now more than ever, donations such as these will help us serve more children who are struggling or who might be experiencing a mental health crisis.”
DGS is Delaware’s largest provider of outpatient behavioral health services to children and families. With offices in Wilmington, Newark, Dover, Lewes, and Seaford, DGS clinicians treat a wide range of diagnoses including depression, anxiety, mood disorders, eating disorders, traumatic stress-related disorders, and suicidal ideation. DGS serves children and youth up through age 18 and provides care to anyone in need, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay for care.
Courtesy: Delaware Business Times | Sabrina Gonzalez | October 18, 2022
A recent survey by the RCMP found that 31% of Canadian youth say they have been cyberbullied before. That’s an increase of 17%, which can be blamed on the pandemic, a time in which kids’ screen time soared.
With kids back to school, cyberbullying will become a hot topic once again.
You can’t make a mean person less awful so how can parents, teachers and other concerned adults keep their children safe?
We spoke with experts Dr. Howard Pratt, a psychiatrist and behavioral health medical director at Community Health of South Florida Inc., and Dr. Sara Goldstein, a professor of human development and family sciences at the University of Delaware, who specializes in bullying during childhood and adolescence.
“Because so much of what we do is online, there’s always that space available for someone to message someone negatively online or in a public space and bully another person,” Dr. Pratt tells the Toronto Sun.
“It’s really not a matter of staying safe but rather how to say safer,” he explains. “So, if there is a platform or space online that you learn is a place where bullying is taking place and affecting your child, then much in the same way you do when you learn there is a geographic location where crimes take place, you know you don’t want your kid there and you don’t let them go there.”
That’s easier said than done since parents and teachers can’t protect kids at all times. But adults can watch out for signs. Like bullying, the signs of cyberbullying are similar.
“Often there is a sense of embarrassment by the victim and the kid will try to hide that the bullying is going on,” Dr. Pratt says. “You may notice signs of withdrawal, symptoms of depression and anxiety despite the source coming from someone who is not physically present in your child’s life.”
Depending on the situation — and every situation is different — there are plans that can be implemented for an effective intervention.
“If the bullying is happening on a particular platform, you have to consider risk versus reward when it comes to eliminating it,” suggests Pratt, but warns that parents have to be very sensitive when making these decisions.
“When kids are bullied, whether the bully is someone they know or is a complete stranger, it calls into question so many things for that child,” he explains.
“The kid may ask themself, ‘Is this the way the world is?’ ‘Is this normal?’ ‘What’s wrong with me that this is happening?’
“So, you want to minimize exposure to bullying whether it’s coming from someone they actually know, or whether it’s coming from a complete stranger.”
As far as protecting kids as best as possible, Dr. Goldstein suggests setting clear guidelines and parameters for online behaviour, limiting time online access to devices, and maintaining positive, open relationships with them.
“When kids feel that they can open up to the important adults in their lives, they are more likely to share with them when something challenging is happening,” she says.
“You can never really be 100 per cent safe from cyberbullying,” admits Dr. Pratt. “Bad people are out there who will say and do bad things and we don’t have control of them.”
He suggests getting spyware to find out what your children are up to online.
“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” he says. “You want to know who is communicating with your kids, what they are saying, and most critically, discern the intent behind that messaging, which a child may not be able to fully grasp.”
As parents or guardians, we tend to react quickly when our children’s physical health is in question. If children show physical symptoms, get injured, or express they don’t feel right, we immediately ask questions and seek medical guidance and care. Parents and guardians are also pros at prevention — making sure children get vaccines and wellness exams and keeping an eye out for anything unusual that may indicate they are sick or hurt. That same level of attention and action for prevention and treatment is critical to supporting children’s mental health.
Many children will experience a mental health and/or substance use problem before age 18. In a survey of 80,000 youth around the world, 1 in 4 reported depressive symptoms and 1 in 5 experienced anxiety symptoms. Those rates are double what they were before the pandemic and we also know that more children have experienced trauma in response to COVID-19. The good news is that there are things that caregivers can do to help promote children’s mental wellbeing. Children thrive in the presence of thriving adults who support them in co-regulation and processing their emotions. When a child has an emotionally healthy, caring adult in their life, it can help buffer against stress and help them to navigate experiences with resilience.
Anyone can be that adult for a child and make a real difference in their life. How? One of the easiest ways is for caregivers to talk with the children in their care — naturally, regularly, and intentionally as a part of daily life. Ask how they are feeling in general and about specific situations, like an upcoming social gathering or recent world event. These talks can take place in the car, standing in line, or at the dinner table. Be an active listener and show interest in all aspects of their life and the things that matter to them. And don’t hesitate to talk with them if you are concerned about their mental health and ask whether they are thinking about or planning suicide. If you are concerned about a child in crisis, you should call the 24/7 Child Crisis Line, also known as Mobile Resource Stabilization Service, at 1-800-969-HELP (4357).
In addition to a caring adult, research shows that prevention and treatment programs do work and there are resources available to help children and their families through the Delaware Children’s Department Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services and the Department of Education and local schools.
The Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services provides free summer prevention programs for children and teens that promote resilience, develop positive relationships with peers and adults and build life skills. Families and community members can contact the division’s Prevention Helpline to learn about these services by calling (302) 633-2680, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or by email at PBHS_Prevention_Inquiries@delaware.gov. You can click here to see the current catalogue of programs. You can also visit DPBHS’ website to learn more about covered treatment services.
Delaware schools support children through wellness promotion, monitoring for early warning signs, and screening for risks. Students may access group and individualized supports for building social and emotional skills. The state’s Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Wellbeing Plan provides infrastructure for this response system, integrating the innovations from Project DelAWARE — designed to reduce the stigma associated with mental health access — and Project THRIVE — which contracts directly with mental health provider organizations to offer trauma-specific interventions for ALL uninsured and under-insured students, regardless of whether they attend public or private schools demonstration project funded by the US Department of Education. Both of these programs have increased mental health equity for children and youth across our state. Students or parents and caregivers on their behalf can learn more by calling 211 or texting their zip code to 898-211.
—Delaware Online Mark Holodick and Josette Manning – Special to the USA TODAY Network
Mark Holodick is Secretary of Education. Josette Manning is Secretary of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families.
The change was gradual. At first, Riana Alexander was always tired. Then she began missing classes. She had been an honors student at her Arizona high school, just outside Phoenix. But last winter, after the isolation of remote learning, then the overload of a full-on return to school, her grades were slipping. She wasn’t eating a lot. She avoided friends.
Her worried mother searched for mental health treatment. Finally, in the spring, a three-day-a-week intensive program for depression helped the teenager steady herself and “want to get better,” Alexander said. Then, as she was finding her way, a girl at her school took her own life. Then a teen elsewhere in the district did the same. Then another.
“It just broke my heart that there were three different people who were going through what I was, and they never got the chance to heal,” said Alexander, 17, now a high school senior.
Riana Alexander, a 17-year-old organizer with Arizona Students for Mental Health, was struggling with her mental health last winter. (Caitlin O’Hara for The Washington Post)
After that devastating stretch in May, families and classmates in the Chandler Unified School District mourned the three 15-year-olds. They would enjoy no more summer vacations, no birthdays or graduations. The losses ignited a debate about what schools should be doing to support students in despair.
Nationally, adolescent depression and anxiety — already at crisis levels before the pandemic — have surged amid the isolation, disruption and hardship of covid-19. Even as federal coronavirus relief money has helped schools step up their efforts to aid students, they also have come up short. It’s unclear how much money is going to mental health, how long such efforts will last or if they truly reach those who struggle most.
“The need is real, the need is dire,” said Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, who recalled hearing just that day from the district’s mental health partners that calls about suicidal thoughts had quadrupled. “We’re living through historically unprecedented times,” he said.
More than 75 percent of schools surveyed in spring said their teachers and staff have voiced concerns about student depression, anxiety and trauma, according to federal data. Nearly as many schools cited a jump in the number of students seeking mental health services.
But mental health is not the only pandemic priority. Schools are spending vast sums of their coronavirus relief money on ventilation upgrades, expanded summer learning, after-school programs, tutors and academic specialists.
The federal spending plans of 5,000 school districts nationally show that more than one-third intend to bring new mental health professionals into schools, and about 30 percent plan to fund social-emotional learning efforts, according to an analysis by FutureEd, a think tank at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
“This is an incredible increase in the amount of money being spent and the number of districts pursuing it,” Phyllis Jordan, associate director of FutureEd said. But it is still, advocates say, not nearly enough.
“We simply don’t have enough people in our profession to meet the need.”
— Kelsey Theis, president of the Texas Association of School Psychologists
In many areas, even when money is in hand, hiring is not easy. As this school year opened, nearly 20 percent of schools reported vacancies in mental health positions, according to federal data. Schools often said they employed too few staff to manage the caseload but also complained about difficulties finding licensed providers, the data showed.
“We simply don’t have enough people in our profession to meet the need,” said Kelsey Theis, president of the Texas Association of School Psychologists. When families seek private therapists, “sometimes there’s a wait list of months and months before they get help,” she said.
In Maine, waiting lists grew so long last year that school counselor Tara Kierstead began looking out of state for therapists who had openings — a solution that was not practical for many families.
“It was the hardest I’ve ever had to work to get resources to people,” Kierstead said. “I know some kids who were never seen.”
Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy called out the “devastating” effects of the pandemic on youth mental health in a public advisory last December. Earlier that year, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association together declared “a national state of emergency” in children’s mental health. They pointed out that young people of color were especially affected and linked the struggle for racial justice to the worsening crisis.
Hospital emergency room visits spiked for suspected suicide attempts among girls ages 12 to 17, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From February to March 2021, the number jumped by 51 percent compared with the same period during 2019. For boys, the increase was 4 percent. Early research from MIT suggested the suicide rate for people aged 10 to 19 increased in 2020, compared with before the pandemic. More recently, CDC provisional data for 2021 showed an increase in the national rate from 2020 to 2021, especially for people ages 15 to 24.
In other research, the CDC found nearly 45 percent of high school students were so persistently sad or hopeless in 2021 they were unable to engage in regular activities. Almost 1 in 5 seriously considered suicide, and 9 percent of the teenagers surveyed by the CDC tried to take their lives during the previous 12 months. A substantially larger percentage of gay, lesbian, bisexual, other and questioning students reported a suicide attempt.
Family upheaval, meanwhile, was widespread, particularly in the early pandemic: Nearly 30 percent of students said an adult in their home had lost a job, and 24 percent said they went hungry for a lack of food.
There are no directly comparable pre-pandemic studies, but Kathleen Ethier, the CDC’s director of the division of adolescent and school health, said student well-being is significantly better for teens who report feeling connected to their schools — a problem for a population that, nationwide, was kept out of them for so long.
“There is 20 years of research showing that it not only has an impact on how young people do while they’re adolescents, but it has 20-year impacts on all kinds of measures of health,” including emotional well-being, suicidality and substance use, she said.
It also left many children grieving. More than 230,000 U.S. students under 18 are believed to be mourning the ultimate loss: the death of a parent or primary caregiver in a pandemic-related loss, according to research by the CDC, Imperial College London, Harvard University, Oxford University and the University of Cape Town. In the United States, children of color were hit the hardest, another study found. It estimated that the loss for Black and Hispanic children was nearly twice the rate for White children.
Too much need, too little help
In Maryland, Julia Horton, 16, recalls that, as her struggles worsened last year, she fell asleep in class a lot and did not turn in work; her grades dropped. Looking back, she said, “it is very obvious it was a cry for help.” Some teachers were compassionate, but others less so. “A lot of teachers talk about understanding mental illness, but they don’t act upon it,” she said.
Her school in suburban Montgomery County had two mental health professionals within its wellness center, county officials said, but Horton — like many students — had no idea. She talked to a counselor she liked about getting more time for assignments but it did not help. Her mother ultimately found her an excellent therapist to help Horton with her depression and anxiety, but she wonders about other teens who may not be as fortunate.
Montgomery County school officials said they inform students about mental health services through community messages, their website, student forums and advisory period lessons — though school board member Lynne Harris said messaging should be more robust and focused on platforms students use most.
In Philadelphia, Mikayla Jones, then 15, took care of her father in spring 2020 when he caught covid-19 and she had little contact with teachers and friends during remote learning. She wanted to talk to a therapist, but her mother couldn’t find one with an opening and she’d never heard of any mental health specialist at school. “I feel like this should not be something that’s possible,” she said. Now a 17-year-old senior, Jones is starting a club to advocate for mental health support across Philadelphia’s schools. “All youth deserve someone to be there for them.”
Philadelphia officials said counselors were meeting with students virtually or in person during the pandemic to assess their needs and help decide next steps. Still, the high school senior never found a therapist. The first meeting of her mental health support club will be later this month.
Told about the school system’s comment, the teenager said: “If the school does not communicate the availability of counselors, and their role as counselor has been repeatedly labeled as ‘college counselor,’ then how will we know that they are there as a mental health resource?”
Shortages of mental health professionals have been the norm in schools. Professional organizations recommend one school psychologist per 500 students, but the national average is one per 1,160 students, with some states approaching one per 5,000. Similarly, the recommended ratio of one school counselor per 250 students is not widespread. The national average: one per 415 students.
National research from 2019 showed that students of color have not received equal access to school counselors. At that time, 38 states were shortchanging students of color, students from low-income families or both, according to the study done by the Education Trust.
As the pandemic has persisted, students have spoken out — in Nebraska, Arizona, Connecticut and Washington.
In Seattle, students who formed the Seattle Student Union to promote racial justice decided this year to push for mental health support in schools. Chetan Soni, a 17-year-old who co-founded the union, said there are too few mental health professionals to meet rising student needs. The district told him it doesn’t have the money, he said.
Seattle teachers, who went on strike in September, included a call for more mental health support for students as one of their bargaining points. The strike settlement included part-time social workers at most schools — a sign of progress, Soni said, but not enough to help all. “Students are suffering from the pandemic and so many other things too,” he said.
His school, Lincoln High, is fortunate in having a school-based health clinic, run by Neighborcare Health. But just one therapist works there, said Rachel Gordon, the company’s school-based mental health clinical manager. Nearly all therapists based at Seattle’s schools have full caseloads and wait lists, Gordon said. Many run group therapy sessions as a way to serve more students. “We’ve seen increases in anxiety, disordered eating, suicidal ideation, OCD and many other mental health challenges,” she said.
In rural Montana, the squeeze was different: Altacare, a for-profit provider, decided to halt services in the state this year amid recruitment difficulties and funding issues. Districts scrambled to cover for the loss, but many could not, and state officials were limited in what they could do. “Unfortunately, they were serving a lot of the very small rural schools that were already struggling,” said Mary Windecker, executive director of the nonprofit Behavioral Health Alliance of Montana.
The shortages meant that Montana kids who needed residential care, for the most serious mental illnesses, were mostly being sent to other states, she said. “Not because we don’t have beds for those children but because we don’t have people to staff those kids,” she said. “Imagine a six-year-old with a serious emotional disturbance being sent as far away as Georgia. That’s happening.”
One result of all these deficiencies: More students are acting out. Last school year, nearly 40 percent of schools nationally reported increases in physical attacks or fights, and roughly 60 percent reported more disruptions in class because of student misconduct, according to federal data. Las Vegas officials reported several alarming attacks on teachers. In Louisiana, fathers at a Shreveport school showed up to help keep the peace after a particularly heated week of student fighting.
National test scores also plummeted to levels not seen since 1999, according to recent data — setting off a wave of alarm among educators, many of whom consider the mental health crisis a contributing factor.
Delaware Public Media | By Rachel Sawicki | Published August 3, 2022 at 6:16 PM EDT
Gov. John Carney (D) signed 3 mental health bills, implementing more proactive measures to treat mental illness.
Legislators and stakeholders gathered at Sean’s House in Newark for the bill signings. The organization opened its doors in 2020, and has saved 61 young adults from a suicidal situation while speaking with more than 30,000 people concerning mental health and suicide awareness over the past 3 years.
State Rep. Valerie Longhurst (D-Bear) prime sponsor to the package of bills, says Sean’s House is an example of the approach lawmakers hope Delaware continues to take to addressing mental health early.
“This extraordinary nonprofit organization offers access to trained peer support specialists and community health resources,” she said. “A location to do schoolwork, a place to meet friends. By having a location young adults feel safe, welcomed, supported.”
One bill, HB 300, establish mental health service units for Delaware middle schools. over the next three years, it will boost the number of mental health professionals in middle schools to have one full-time school counselor, school social worker, or licensed clinical social worker for every 250 students and one school psychologist for every 700 students.
The bill is similar to one signed last year, which did the same in elementary schools an Longhurst says more is in the works.
“So today, we’re moving upstream and doing preventative measures in the state of Delaware,” Longhurst said. “We can no longer afford to go downstream. So today we are unlocking that light and we are going to make a difference and we will make it happen. And you will see next year I will be bringing forth another set of mental health issues or legislation and all these people behind me will be with me.”
Two other bills will implement statewide mental health educational programs for grades K-12 and will require insurance carriers to cover an annual wellness check, starting at the beginning of 2023.
“Every dollar invested in mental health can yield up to 10 times the savings in healthcare, criminal and juvenile justice and lost productivity,” Longhurst said.
Coverage for annual wellness checks begin at the beginning of 2023.
—Delaware Online | Tom Carper | Special to the USA TODAY Network
Not everyone’s lucky enough to get to work their dream job — let alone to know what it is they’d like to do in life. But I’ve long considered myself lucky, because — although I never got to serve as chief of Naval Operations or as third baseman for my beloved Detroit Tigers — for eight years, I was privileged enough to serve as governor of Delaware.
Now, eight years may sound like a long time. But with a long list of priorities I wanted us to achieve for families in the First State, those years can go by fast. And while it was hard to leave office in the winter of 2001 with a good deal still left to complete, I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve the people of Delaware in a different role — as United States Senator. Because today, I still get to work on a number of the same priorities that I focused on as governor nearly 30 years ago — issues that matter to all Delawareans, like accessing health care.
I’m reminded of a time just before I was sworn in as governor when I was asked: “If you had a magic wand that could solve some of Delaware’s biggest problems, what would you do with it?”
There were many things I wish a magic wand could fix. But as a father of three sons and as a public servant, this answer was easy: I’d use it to strengthen families — the basic building block of society — by giving every child in Delaware a safe home and access to affordable, quality health care.
That was true then, and it’s still true today. But when I walked into the governor’s office for the first time and opened up my desk drawer, there was no magic wand waiting for me.
So, from day one in office as governor, I set out to strengthen families and put kids first.
We began by creating the Family Services Cabinet Council — a council comprised of seven cabinet secretaries whose departments related to children and families that would meet monthly to prioritize First State families.
And up and down the state, I wanted to do more than just help strengthen families at home. I wanted to follow a simple principle: meet kids where they are.
So, we set the ambitious goal of putting a nurse in every public school, and a wellness center in every public high school in order to expand the type of health care services our students can receive.
And we did just that. In the years since, Delaware has put a wellness center in 32 public high schools and seven public middle schools, with even more to open this fall.
While my days as governor have long since passed, I’ve taken that same idea — to meet kids where they are — with me to Washington. Because that belief, professed and championed by Delawareans, can be brought to the rest of the country to make a real difference for the next generation.
And today, America’s kids need it.
Over the last few years, we were already witnessing a rising tide of mental health problems in America. But with students stuck at home during a pandemic, isolated from classmates and teachers, the situation’s only gotten worse. That includes for kids right here in Delaware, where at Nemours Children’s Hospital from 2020-2021 there was an 80% increase in children coming into the emergency department with concerns of suicide and self harm.
So it was no surprise when, in December, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared a national youth mental health crisis.
I jumped at the idea proposed by my colleagues in the Senate Finance Committee for a bipartisan working group to bolster America’s mental health care system.
And together, with my friend, Sen. Bill Cassidy, Republican from Louisiana, I co-chaired our committee’s bipartisan working group on youth mental health.
With the experience of what worked for kids in Delaware, I was determined to bring relief to kids across the country — to meet them wherever they are.
After months of research and back and forth negotiations working toward compromise, we came to an agreement.
Together, we cut red tape for schools that are struggling to get reimbursed for mental health services that they provide to their students. And we created grants for states to help create or expand school-based health programs.
So, the next time a child is struggling with pandemic-induced anxiety in the classroom, or a low-income student can’t travel to receive mental health services, they can turn to their own school for help.
Our work for children on the federal level has been bolstered by recent achievements in the Delaware legislature. Thanks to the leadership of Representative Valerie Longhurst, Delaware recently passed three critical bills meant to end the stigma around mental health and expand care for our kids. Investing in mental health professionals and programs, together both as federal and state leaders, will surely save lives, and I look forward to Governor Carney signing these bills into law.
Of course, there will always be more we can do to help families and kids who need it. And, in Delaware and across America, there will be no magic wand to cure what ails our health care system. But thanks to the values championed in the First State, we can raise our children with more of the support, the care, and the love they need.
Sen. Tom Carper has represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate since 2001.
September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day, September is Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month
Join the conversation and help spread awareness of suicide prevention!
In recognition of World Suicide Prevention Day, the Delaware Children’s Department is raising awareness of suicide warning signs and helpful resources, especially during this unprecedented global pandemic.
“COVID-19 has magnified the many stressors families grapple with daily, from financial stress to relationship stress, and so much more. We know that mental health and wellness have been impacted over the last six months and therefore we must be proactive and encourage children and families to reach out if they are struggling,” said Josette Manning, Secretary of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, also known as the Delaware Children’s Department. “No one has to go through this alone. Reach out to the Child Priority Response Line at 1-800-969-HELP or text DE to 741-741. Help – and hope – is only a call or text away.”
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death nationwide, and second leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24. Every World Suicide Prevention Day, observed on September 10, is an opportunity build community and share support. To start, you can use the acronym FACTS (feelings, action, changes, threats, situations) to learn the warning signs for suicidal behavior. You can find more information online at this link, but here are a few examples:
Feelings: Helplessness; worthlessness; fear of hurting oneself or others
Action: Drug or alcohol abuse; talking or writing about death/destruction; recklessness
Changes: (examples) Changes in personality, behavior; loss of interest in friends and hobbies once enjoyed
Threats: Like “I won’t be around much longer”; plans like giving away favorite things; suicide attempts like overdosing, wrist cutting
Situations: Getting into trouble at school, at home, with the law; recent loss through death, divorce; the break-up of a relationship; losing an opportunity, dream
“To our caregivers and teens throughout Delaware – please know that you don’t have to wait to reach out for help. If you are struggling, help is available 24/7,” said Jill Rogers, executive director of Delaware Guidance Services, the provider that partners with DSCYF to manage the Child Priority Response Line. “If you recognize any signs of suicidal behavior, please reach out. Our crisis clinicians are training to help families work through crisis situations and direct them to needed resources. Together, we can help Delaware families get through this difficult period.”
In the last few years, Delaware has implemented several youth prevention initiatives as a result of the Project SAFETY grant, a federally-funded suicide prevention program. The grant program concluded in June, but Delaware was able to sustain the following services through community partnerships. Here are some of the accomplishments and outcomes:
Coordinating more than 27,000 online suicide prevention trainings for school personnel since 2017
Initiating about 8,000 mental health screenings of youth and screening initiatives at 44 organizations such as schools, mobile crisis units and the children’s hospital
Bolstering crisis services in Kent and Sussex County
Providing better coordination of services for youth from inpatient to outpatient care
Implementing a Crisis Text Line service for Delaware youth; From June 2016 to June 2020, the text line logged 1,744 text conversations and nine active rescues have taken place as a result of text line conversations
Creating a mental health-focused website – www.mentalhealthde.com – which is now managed by Mental Health Association in Delaware
“We know that Delawareans are in pain; our youth in particular have had to face so many changes to their day-to-day routines and activities. It’s important to check in, ask questions about mental health and just be there for one another. Death by suicide is the most preventable form of death,” said Yolanda Jenkins, Manager of Provider Services for the Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services and one of the leads on the Project SAFETY grant.
“I’m grateful for the work of Project SAFETY to help lay the groundwork for these important prevention services. Due to the grant, the Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services continues to offer the Crisis Text Line and partner with the Mental Health Association in Delaware on suicide prevention trainings, among other efforts. I look forward to these continued provider and partner collaborations for Delaware’s children, youth and families.”
If a child or youth is in crisis or contemplating suicide, please seek immediate help. We are in this together, and you are not alone.
“Now, more than ever, it is important that we normalize talking about mental health and asking the tough questions. When it comes to talking about suicide and being concerned about someone’s actions and/or behaviors, it is important that we intervene and get the person the help he or she needs. Never push to tomorrow a conversation you can have today. We must continue to come together as a community and create a safer state,” said Jennifer Smolowitz, Project Director for Suicide Prevention at the Mental Health Association in Delaware.
Delaware Guidance Services implements new Collaborative Problem Solving Approach within their Outpatient/Therapeutic Support for Families (OPTSF) program.
Delaware Guidance Services for Children and Youth (DGS) received a $25,000 Project Innovation grant from NBC10, Telemundo62, and the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation for its Outpatient/Therapeutic Support for Families (OPTSF) program. The funding will be directed towards implementing the Collaborative Problem Solving Approach within their program.
The OPTSF program has been in existence for 23 years and serves children who require more intensive care and for patients where traditional outpatient care has not been successful. The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach is a unique model that focuses on cognitive skill deficits to help patients respond to outcomes across multiple settings such as at home and school. Patients and their families are assigned a clinician team where the clinician will go directly to their home and treat the client. OPTSF’s services last for approximately eight to 12 months, preparing families to resolve future challenges on their own with the proper tools.
Delaware Guidance Services for Children and Youth is one of the oldest and largest non-profit organizations in the state of Delaware, assisting children and families for more than 65 years. The organization provides care for more than 10,000 Delaware children through 100,000 visits each year. DGS aspires to build resilient families through their services ranging from traditional outpatient counseling to crisis response.
Submit your application and resumé using this form. If you have specific questions, or trouble using the form, please contact Human Resources at our headquarters in Wilmington.
(Please indicate the position for which you are applying and where you saw the position advertised.)
