Source
Summary
“The challenges facing youth today are daunting and widespread: Many struggle with their mental health and substance use. A national survey showed that nearly all indicators of poor mental health for teens worsened from 2013-2023—including increases in the percentage of high school students who experienced persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness (rising from 30% to 40% over the 10-year period). The 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health revealed that a larger percentage of young adults ages 18-25 have a substance use disorder (27.8%) than any other age group. Although COVID-19 placed unprecedented stress on youth, these trends were in motion long before the pandemic began in 2020. Fortunately, these trends are also treatable—and sometimes preventable—with a health care delivery system that is primed and ready to tackle the unique needs of youth and their families.
A common refrain among child-serving health care professionals is that the health care system and its financing mechanisms are not designed to optimally serve youth and their families. BPC’s Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Task Force aims to change that.
[Related Report: 2024 U.S. national survey on the mental health of LGBTQ+ young people]
Over the past year, the task force convened over 50 experts and thought leaders from across the health care spectrum: health professionals, children’s hospitals, payers, consumer advocates, youth, and caregivers, as well as Republicans, Democrats, and independents. They considered how to maximize the potential of the U.S. health care system to better serve youth and to formulate recommendations for the next administration and Congress.
The task force focused on five key areas.
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- Across the health care system, opportunities exist to build new workforce capacity, make the existing workforce more effective, and redirect care to more appropriate sites.
- The task force examined ways to increase compliance with existing screening and treatment requirements, including network adequacy standards and mental health and addiction parity requirements.
- Further integrating primary care and behavioral health services in pediatric settings was key to the work of the task force.
- The task force addressed services for youth with the highest acuity behavioral health needs. Many of these children have experienced significant emotional and physical trauma, may be involved in the child welfare or the criminal justice systems, and often require immediate, intensive, specialized care.
- Lastly, the group focused on strengthening our nation’s patchwork of crisis and stabilization services to improve the experience and outcomes of youth in crisis.”
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