Thursday, September 15, 2022

A message from Tom Royer
President/CEO

New findings regarding the pandemic on the health and well-being of our nation’s children are emerging – and they are disturbing. One new finding from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) confirmed that school closures and interruptions from the pandemic have stunted the academic growth of students.

Our youngest have been hit the hardest. Reading and math, the most basic components of education, have seen sharp declines this year. For nine-year-olds, reading scores declined by five points and math scores declined by seven points from prior to the pandemic. This difference is the biggest decline in reading scores since 1990 and the biggest decline in math scores ever. 

In addition, there is more evidence that our country is experiencing a mental health crisis. We have had anecdotal evidence of this for a while now. Our staff have been reporting there are many more children who need help and the severity level is much higher now than it was before the pandemic. Now, we are starting to get data to back up their first-hand experience. 

According to Mental Health America (MHA), the number of people looking online for help with their mental health increased nearly 500% between 2019 and 2022! Almost half of those looking for help in the United States were ages 11-17, which indicates a significant increase in youth experiencing emotional difficulties. Ultimately, more pre-teens and teens are struggling with their mental health and looking for help.

More disturbing statistics: 

• The percentage of people in the United States reporting frequent thoughts of suicide and self-harm was the highest recorded since the MHA Screening Program launched in 2014.
• Rates of suicidal ideation are highest among youth, especially LGBTQ+ youth.
• Suicidal ideation has increased the most for Black youth and adults. In fact, Black individuals have had the largest increase in anxiety during the pandemic, compared to other races/ethnicities.

While more of our children are struggling in school and with their mental health, the mental health workforce, including school-based programs, is also struggling.

The entire system is on the edge of a crisis.

There are a lot of reasons for this. 

First, the State of Ohio moved children’s behavioral health under Medicaid to managed care. Managed care companies hired hundreds of therapists to determine medical necessity and to review and monitor cases, taking them out of direct service roles.

At the same time, fewer people are going into the mental health field - and who can blame them with the cost of college skyrocketing and the relatively low pay in the field.

That is, however, starting to change. With increased demand and fewer mental health workers, wages are increasing. In fact, the pandemic has increased the pace. Not only was the pandemic responsible for a surge in need, but it also spurred on the use of new technology and a relaxing of rules around the use of technology in providing mental health services, creating more jobs and more competition for a diminishing workforce. Video conferencing allows therapists to work from the comfort of their homes and provide services to people for which the technology is suited. Unfortunately – and this is critical – remote services are not optimal for most of Beech Brook’s clients.

The issue is deeper than money and technology. During the pandemic, mental health workers were on the front line holding it all together. While everyone had to cope with the fear and uncertainty of COVID-19 from their homes, our staff had to expose themselves to the virus every day. Our staff had to deal with the increased number and complexity of cases, while also coping with their personal lives during a pandemic.

Staff feel stressed out and stretched too thin. Many report feeling frustration, exhaustion and burnout, and are overwhelmed. For more than two years, our staff have had to worry, not only about their own health, but about exposing their children to COVID-19 and exposing their spouse or partner or older adult family members.

Beech Brook doesn’t claim to have all the answers to this nationwide dilemma. But that does not mean that we will stop trying! We need to acknowledge the reality of this crisis, but we also must acknowledge our staff for being the heroes they are and for the work that they do. Ultimately, we –just like every other mental health agency – need more qualified staff. And we must take care of the incredible staff we have. For our staff and for the children and families we serve, we need to figure this out.

Beech Brook just completed a strategic plan which will chart our course for the next three to five years. Much of the plan focuses on the workforce crisis we are experiencing in our field and how we can best manage it to deliver our sacred mission of helping children and families thrive.

I look forward to updating everyone as we progress through this part of the strategic plan. In the meantime, if you see a Beech Brook staff person, please give them a pat on the back and a sincere, “Thank You.” They deserve it – and a lot more.

Beech Brook is here to help!

Beech Brook's School-Based programs are based in more than 70 schools across Northeast Ohio. Our dedicated team of mental health workers help kids who are experiencing behavioral or emotional issues that are getting in the way of their learning. Make a donation to Beech Brook to help us continue to provide this vital service!