Oregon Student Mental Health Status Check
Over the last several years, I have worked to keep educational leaders updated on the status of mental health-serving systems here in Oregon. The goal is to equip educational leaders with the current assessment of youth mental health across the state and to make sure that they have access to information that might not normally come up in their leadership circles. I have seen, firsthand, the power that educational leaders have in moving the conversation forward to support students. In an effort to broaden the conversation about youth mental health needs in our state, I am circulating my breakdowns and resources more widely. Here are a pair of key resources that can help understand the state of mental healthcare in Oregon today:
Mental Health America (MHA) State of Mental Health Report 2023 - MHA is one of the most powerful data-driven advocates in national policy research into the mental health system nationwide. The title link will allow you to download the report. Annually MHA produces a “state of the states” report to help policymakers understand the nature of the most pressing concerns in the behavioral health system. Key points from the report are:
Oregon continues to rank last in the nation (51 out of 51 states and territories) in our mental health system for youth. This is the second year in a row that we have ranked last in the nation but it continues a multiple-year trend of our state being in the bottom five of those surveyed.
Oregon continues to rate low because the prevalence of mental illness is notably higher in our youth and our system has significantly less access to care than other states.
Paradoxically, Oregon is ranked highly for our access to health insurance for youth as well as our school’s ability to identify youth with emotional disturbance and provide Special Education. These two factors are correlated with better outcomes for youth overall
One strong conclusion that can be drawn from this data is: that while we have a system that facilitates the identification of youth with mental illness, our mental health serving system still lags in its ability to meet the need to provide care.
Oregonian Article - Recently, Ted Sickinger provided an exceptional breakdown of how Oregon has funded its mental health system and where the vast amount of our money has gone. As a long-term policy advocate in the system, I was struck by how clearly it outlines the way our state policy decisions have resulted in the broken system we see today. The key takeaways from this piece are:
Since 2005, against the advice of research, Oregon has continued to fund the state hospital over the needs of community mental health programs.
Even with massive increases in recent years, the lack of ongoing funding adjustments has resulted in the limited ability of systems to keep wages competitive. The result is that we have continued to lose staff to other states where wages are competitive.
Funding for the mental health system remains focused on adults with serious mental illness and leaves youth almost unrecognized. The Oregon state hospitals in Salem and Junction City have 705 beds of adult capacity between them. The parallel state hospital system for youth run by Trillium Family Services is only a few dozen in capacity (varies based on staffing).
Recently, many also received a letter from Senator Ron Wyden advocating for schools to become more involved in mental health services for their youth - including providing mental healthcare themselves. Senator Wyden’s letter outlines the upcoming changes that are underway at the Oregon Health Authority to help school systems access Medicaid funding to pay for mental health services in their schools for youth. It is important to remember that the Federal Government pays for 78% of all mental health funding in Oregon. This match rate is one of the most generous in the nation and is based upon our state’s commitment to Home and Community-Based Support for individuals. Educators are key partners in our work to support youth mental health. As healthcare professionals, it is a powerful and valuable task to educate our teachers about the mental health system that we operate in. Creating clarity in the mental health system eases access and raises the standards of care across our communities. I’m as proud to be an educator as I am to be a clinical social worker and a health policy leader. Only together can we change the story of mental health access for Oregon’s young people.
