This week’s declaration covers steps that federal, state and local policymakers can take to begin to address the problem. Here are 10 solutions school administration may want to advocate for:

Increase federal funding to ensure all families and children have access to quality mental health treatment from infancy through adolescence. Particular emphasis must be placed on meeting the needs of under-resourced populations.
Address regulatory challenges and improve access to technology to give all families have access to mental health care through telemedicine.
Fund and expand effective models of school-based mental health care, including clinical strategies and models for payment.
Accelerate adoption of models for integrated mental health care in primary care pediatrics.
Strengthen emerging efforts to reduce the risk of suicide in children and adolescents through school- and community-based prevention programs.
Fully fund comprehensive, community-based systems of care that connect families in need of behavioral health services with interventions in their home, community or school.
Fund trauma-informed care services that support relational health and family resilience.
Solve workforce shortage in child mental health by creating innovative training programs, college loan repayment, and intensifying efforts to recruit underrepresented populations into health care professions.
Increase the number of hospitals and emergency beds available by expanding “step-down programs” from inpatient units, short-stay stabilization units, and community-based response teams.
Advance policies that ensure compliance with and enforcement of mental health parity laws.

Instant Insights /

10 solutions schools can champion to address a national mental health emergency

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