'Growing Mental Health Crisis In Schools,' DiNapoli Warns

NEW YORK — The need for mental health services will likely increase as COVID-19–related and other life stresses continue to plague students. However, too many of New York school districts’ mental health teams are understaffed, with too few available services and inconsistent and limited oversight of mental health education for students, according to a just released audit by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

In December, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a warning of an urgent mental health crisis among America’s youth, but the audit found that New York schools are ill-equipped to deal with the crisis.

The statewide survey of school districts found the vast majority of the state’s 686 districts outside of New York City entered the pandemic with mental health teams that were far short of nationally recommended staff-to-student ratios. In fact, 19 school districts reported having no mental health professional staff at all. 95 percent of districts did not meet the recommended ratio of one school social worker for every 250 students. More than half of the districts fell short of guidelines for the ratio of school psychologists and school counselors per student.

"The upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic created a crisis for many students in New York, but not enough is being done to make sure they are getting the information and support they need,” DiNapoli said. "The State Education Department should work with state and local entities to ensure resources to address the problem are available and prioritize mental health instruction and outreach among school districts so students and staff can recognize warning signs of distress and know how to get help. I’m encouraged that the department responded positively to our recommendations."

SEE ALSO: Health Experts See COVID-Related Suicide 'Crisis' Among Young

DiNapoli said schools being under-resourced is especially troubling considering the scope of the crisis. His report cited an American Psychological Association survey that found over 80 percent of teens experienced more intense school-related stress due to COVID-19. Even more concerning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in 2020, mental health emergency room visits rose 24 percent among 5- to 11-year-olds and 31 percent among 12-to-17-year-olds.

In May of 2021, the director of psychiatry at The Westchester Medical Center Health Network's (WMCHealth) Behavioral Health Center told Patch a serious public mental health crisis among school age children is quietly taking place.

Dr. Stephen Ferrando said, in addition to increased cases of drug and alcohol abuse, anxiety disorders and severe depression, a marked rise in the number of serious suicide attempts among adolescents and young adults had reached a breaking point.

There are times when emergency rooms in the region are stretched thin and filled with kids who are suicidal, Ferrando explained. "We are also seeing a significant number of inpatient mental health admissions involving young adults," he added.

While DiNapoli noted New York was the first state in the country to require school districts provide mental health education, he also said that, given the urgency of the growing mental health crisis, the New York State Education Department should ensure that school districts statewide have established a mental health curriculum and are using it. Currently, the department does not require districts to verify they’re meeting mandated mental health education standards, so it cannot be sure of what districts are, or are not, providing students, the audit found.

Mental health education is one of the key ways school districts can support the mental health of all students. With the stakes so high, the department of education should act quickly to avert further crisis, the report concluded.

DiNapoli recommended that the department explore partnering with state and local entities to determine whether school districts should maintain certain staffing levels for mental health professionals and develop a mechanism to determine if school districts are providing mental health education as required by law.

Responding to the audit's findings, the education department's board of regents concurred with many of the recommendations, but said that additional funding from the state would be key in addressing many of the issues identified in the report.

"While instruction in mental health and overall health and well-being is critically important, it is not a substitute for mental health services provided by a qualified mental health professional," the board members wrote in a letter dated March 2. "Such services are most often provided by a licensed mental health professional outside the school setting."