Greetings, Network faithful. I am feeling a definite Bee Gees vibe for this fabulous December Friday. Sit back, put on your late 70’s swag and enjoy this excellent cover of How Deep is Your Love by Brother Stone & The Get Down. Enjoy an interpretation of this classic song in a way I’ll bet you have never heard. You are gonna love it! Enjoy the vibe and then get to readin’ Friday Update, cuz we got work to do!

Most Important Reads of the Week

Do You Want to Feel More Connected During the Holiday Season?
Our friends at Collectively have a great gift for you! If you or someone you love is struggling with feeling connected to others, you are welcome to join them on Wednesday, December 14th, at 12:00 PM EST for an hour of connection and support. Learn techniques that you can use to connect with others during the holiday season. This will be a fun, relaxed opportunity to hear what others are doing to connect and walk away with valuable tools to foster connection.

NACBHDD Annual Legislative and Policy Conference
February 13 – 15, 2023
Are you interested in federal policy? Do you want to connect with state and local behavioral health directors facing similar challenges? Then consider attending the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Directors Legislative and Policy Conference February 13-15, 2023. During this meeting, the focus will be on national developments around the 988 implementation, Medicaid, rural access, developmental and intellectual disabilities, behavioral health and criminal justice, and more. This intimate conference allows for candid discussions with policymakers and colleagues. The draft agenda is now available.

Youth-in-Transition Policy Summit
Policy Workshop Application Deadline: January 6, 2023
The Utah Office of Substance Use and Mental Health/Department of Health and Human Services and the Center for Law and Social Policy invite you to submit an application to the Youth-in-Transition Policy Summit to be held at Salt Lake City, Utah on April 4 and 5, 2023. The deadline for submitting your application is January 6th, so get on it!

Call for Proposal: The 2023 Mental Health America (MHA) Conference
The 2023 Mental Health America (MHA) Conference is a weeklong event in Washington, D.C., including Policy Institute Day on June 6, MHA Affiliate Day on June 7, and Annual Conference Days on June 8-10. All events will be offered in a hybrid format and include in-person, live-streamed, and virtual sessions with closed captioning. The 2023 Mental Health America Conference will focus on “Next Gen Prevention,” exploring intersecting ways to promote lived experience, advance health equity, and focus on the social determinants of health. Applications are due by Monday, January 9, 2022.

New Report Details Large Barriers to Mental Health Care Due to 2011 Realignment Funding Method
Young Minds Advocacy (YMA) recently released a report titled “Disproportionate Funding Denies Specialty Mental Health Care to Hundreds of Thousands of California Youth.” YMA examined administrative data from Fiscal Year 2012-13 to 2019-20 and developed county-by-county performance details for 29 counties that cover 95% of Medi-Cal eligible youth. The data show that California’s discretionary funding allocations dating back to at least 2011 Realignment have constrained mental health service performance in counties that received proportionately less state funding. Hundreds of thousands of youth have not received services simply because they resided in “underwater” counties with more Medi-Cal eligible youths than mental health funding provided under the 2011 Realignment.
Lessons aplenty for advocates in other states!

The Power of Play – How Fun and Games Help Children Thrive
Play is more than just a chance to have fun; it is serious business regarding a child’s health and development. From peek-a-boo to pat-a-cake and hide-and-seek to hopscotch, the many forms of play enrich a child’s brain, body, and life in important ways.

2015-2020 Mental Health Client-Level Data Annual Report
This report presents results from the Mental Health Client-Level Data (MH-CLD) and Mental Health Treatment Episode Data Set (MH-TEDS) for individuals receiving mental health services from state mental health systems in 2020, as well as selected trends in data collected from such individuals between 2015 and 2020. The report provides information on mental health diagnoses, mental health treatment settings, and demographic and substance use characteristics of individuals in mental health treatment facilities that are reported to individual state administrative data systems.

Using New Federal Funding to Meet Children’s Behavioral Health Needs in School
Since the pandemic began, there has been an increase in suicide rates among young people, particularly Black adolescents. Rates of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and depression have continued to rise as the long-term impact of COVID-19 plays out. Fortunately, the federal government has responded with unprecedented levels of support, and efforts are underway to help schools put these new or dramatically expanded resources to good use. Seven of 10 public schools report that the number of students seeking mental health services has increased since 2020. With students back in the structured school environment, educators are working overtime to meet their behavioral health needs.

and for another view…

Schools Struggle to Staff Up for Youth Mental Health Crisis
Despite an influx of COVID-19 relief money, school districts across the country have struggled to staff up to address students’ mental health needs that have only grown since the pandemic hit. Among 18 of the country’s largest school districts, 12 started this school year with fewer counselors or psychologists than in the fall of 2019, according to an analysis by Chalkbeat. As a result, many school mental health professionals have caseloads far exceeding recommended limits, according to experts and advocates, and students must wait for urgent help.

Coping With Climate Change: Advice for Kids — From Kids
Kids worldwide are increasingly facing the impacts of climate change, from losing homes in disasters to having recess canceled due to extreme heat waves. Climate anxiety is on the rise as a younger generation confronts inheriting a much hotter world.

Study Finds ‘Huge’ Increase in Children Going to the Emergency Room With Suicidal Thoughts
There has been a steady increase in the number of children who are seen in emergency rooms for suicidal thoughts, according to a new study – and the increase started even before the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought record high demand for psychological services for children. The study found that visits to the ER with suicidal thoughts increased 59% from 2016-17 to 2019-21. There was a corresponding increase in cases in which suicidal ideation was the principal diagnosis, which rose from 34.6% to 44.3%. Hospitalizations for suicidal thoughts increased by 57% between the fall of 2019 and 2020.

Adverse Childhood Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Associations with Poor Mental Health and Suicidal Behaviors Among High School Students — Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United States, January–June 2021
The prevalences of poor current mental health and past-year suicide attempts among adolescents reporting four or more ACEs during the COVID-19 pandemic were four and 25 times as high as those without ACEs, respectively. Exposure to specific ACE types (e.g., emotional abuse) was associated with higher prevalences of poor mental health and suicidal behaviors.

Youth, Vaping, and Stress: What Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment Providers Need to Know
Stress alleviation is the most common motivation for high school students who vape. Although 70% of students cited stress as the primary influencer and symptom they seek to alleviate, students who vape report higher stress levels than their non-using peers. This is because, despite myths and misconceptions about vaping alleviating stress, nicotine can induce stress, leading to greater mental health and substance use challenges in the short and long term.

Teaching Kids How to Deal With Conflict
No one likes dealing with conflict. But no matter how hard we try to avoid them, arguments, fights, and disagreements are a fact of life — for adults and kids. And not dealing with conflicts when they arise can negatively impact relationships and lead to further interpersonal challenges.