Despite California’s unprecedented investment in the well-being of children and families, this is the gap between policies promised on paper and what is actually being achieved for young people and families. I have never felt so big.
My children are ex-foster youths living with complex medical needs and are considered high priority for behavioral health care, but waiting times for services can be months. , in some cases for several years.
I have many privileges and experiences working in health care over many decades. you can’t.
I can only imagine what it would be like for families with less understanding and fewer resources to navigate this system.
Citing the U.S. Surgeon General’s 2021 report, at a recent conference warning that youth mental health was becoming a “devastating” crisis, I put my 15-year-old daughter in medical care for ADHD. It’s been months since I started trying to get it back. and depression. Her psychiatric referral, which had been in place since she was 12 years old, was inexplicably closed due to apparent paperwork glitches. I was told I had to restart the whole process.
So I appreciate the Instagram post raising awareness of adolescent mental health, and how black kids (like my daughter) are at higher risk for depression and anxiety. While we applaud efforts to highlight the disparities we face, we also know firsthand that this system is deeply flawed.
This is especially true for families like ours who have insurance through Medi-Cal. At best, access to Medi-Cal behavioral health services is difficult. Most of the time they are a big sieve where children and families are lost, not their fault.
This is not a new problem. When my youngest daughter was diagnosed with a debilitating, incurable disease at the age of five, I asked her pediatrician to help her develop her resilience and support our family by treating her behavior problems. I asked how I could access health resources. was.
There was no preventative care available for her or our family.
That particular policy changed last year, and while Medi-Cal children who are involved in the system or who have experienced trauma are theoretically eligible for benefits, their ability to actually receive care is substantially reduced. has not been improved to
My same daughter, now 14, was diagnosed with post-viral syndrome after experiencing COVID-19, and her symptoms exacerbated her pre-existing illness, leading to the development of depression and anxiety. Her pediatrician (who is wonderful) said there are no more referrals to child psychiatry at this clinic, but if she is in danger, call 911 or seek emergency care. can do.
As a former therapist, I know that when children, especially adolescents, say they are suffering, there is a significant window of opportunity for treatment that cannot be delayed. , all he did was tell me to wait.
our kids are not okay. We need something better than hotlines, first responders, and local hospitals as a safety net. State leaders must recognize the depth of the current emergency and support the mental health needs of the youth involved in the system, who are some of the state’s most vulnerable populations.
Specifically, the state should allocate dedicated nonfederal funds to counties in this year’s budget to put promising new Professional Mental Health Services eligibility criteria policies into practice. If we are to help children, local behavioral health delivery systems need to resource, support and inform in an immediate and sustainable manner.
Nancy Netherland is a mother of two teens with complicated health conditions. She founded Kids and Caregivers and is the Director of Caregiver Engagement for her Trust for California Children. Distributed by CalMatters.org.
