Georgia faces a growing mental health crisis among children, with schools on the front lines.

Georgia schools received millions in grants last year to expand mental health services on campus but a new report showed 119,000 children across the state experience major depression and more than half are not getting the help they need.

Angela Kimball, chief advocacy officer for the mental health advocacy organization Inseparable, said schools play a key role in closing these gaps by making mental health resources more accessible.

"One of the most important roles is that schools can help promote resilience and skills, like getting along well with others, healthy coping skills, making responsible choices," Kimball outlined. "All of those things can help mitigate against mental health challenges later on."

The report suggested several policy changes to help address the crisis, including expanding Medicaid billing to cover school-based mental health services, ensuring state funding for school psychologists and social workers and requiring annual well-being checks for students and staff.

Dimple Desai, senior policy analyst for the group Voices for Georgia's Children, said tackling the issue requires a comprehensive approach, with basic mental health support for all students and targeted interventions for those who need extra help. She noted programs like Georgia Apex are helping but could be expanded, along with after-school supports, to reach more children.

"After the school day ends, a lot of schools are providing that aftercare in the same building, to students that need a safe place to be while parents are finishing up their work day," Desai explained. "That is an environment where additional supports can be placed."

Desai argued bringing mental health services into schools helps remove major barriers to care, especially for those who might have trouble getting to appointments or navigating the system. But perhaps the biggest hurdle is a shortage of mental health professionals, particularly in rural Georgia. Desai thinks it is crucial to not only grow the workforce pipeline but support the providers already on the front lines.

"What that looks like is making sure that we are caring for the providers," Desai emphasized. "Burnout is very real in this profession, so we want to make sure we're addressing that. We want to make sure that we're paying them a livable wage."

Another challenge, she added, is ensuring schools offer the right kinds of mental health programs. Using tools like Georgia's annual School Climate Survey, schools can pinpoint key issues like suicide prevention, bullying or substance abuse, and tailor support to meet students' needs.

Indiana families are preparing kids for back-to-school season, and mental-health experts say emotional readiness is just as important as school supplies.

Beth Trammell, a psychologist and professor at Indiana University East, said kids often carry anxiety into the new school year. She encouraged parents to help children identify those fears.

"We as parents or caregivers think, 'Don't worry, or don't stress.' Instead, we might want to say, 'OK, well, let's talk about what it is you're worried about. What is the worst thing you think could happen?' If we draw it out of them," she said, "it may give them space to kind of let that out."

Helping kids feel heard can reduce stress. But experts also urge balance, keeping mornings calm, easing into routines, and not overloading schedules the first few weeks.

Nicole Brady, chief medical officer at UnitedHealthcare, said mental-health support should remain a priority throughout the year.

"Though we want our kids to be involved in activities and be social," she said, "we have to watch their academic performance, their mood, those sleep patterns, and making sure that those are staying healthy."

Brady added that parents should talk regularly with kids, model healthy coping and seek help early if warning signs appear.


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After a legislative session which opened doors to expand mental health care services across Montana, a state commission said it is considering the Billings area to build the state's second forensic facility.

For people involved in Montana's justice system whom a judge has deemed not mentally fit for their own defense, there are 53 beds in the state's only forensic facility in Galen. The daily waitlist hovers at about 100 people.

Matt Kuntz, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Montana, said it is not meeting the immense need.

"It's just a really bad situation for the people that are in the jails, for the people that are caring for them, for the taxpayers," Kuntz outlined. "It just doesn't work for anybody."

At a recent commission meeting, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Director Charlie Brereton said the state is identifying a location for a new facility. The department received nearly $27 million from the state in April to fund project planning.

Kuntz noted the Montana Legislature passed many bills this session centered on mental health care.

"We really were able to get big wins in access to outpatient care, access to crisis care and for people in need of forensic hospital," Kuntz explained. "Overall, it was really an amazing legislative session for Montanans with mental health conditions."

Other mental health legislation will boost school-based services, youth in residential care, the state's 988 crisis line and certified community behavioral health clinics.


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The California Parent and Youth Helpline is in serious jeopardy after Gov. Gavin Newsom cut it from the new state budget, saying the money was needed to support medical services.

Advocates said they are puzzled because the governor has championed the helpline for years, and lawmakers approved $3 million from a separate fund dedicated to mental health, which does not affect the deficit.

Lisa Pion-Berlin, president and CEO of the nonprofit Parents Anonymous, which runs the helpline, said it is still operating 24/7, for now.

"We're holding on for the next month or so," Pion-Berlin pointed out. "But we need the state to step up, or one of these well-off philanthropists who cares about having that immediate help for emotional support, which is so vital."

Advocates are hoping funding can be restored via a budget trailer bill in the next few weeks. People can call or text and reach the helpline's trained counselors at 877-427-2736. The free helpline has connected with more than 120,000 people since its inception five years ago, and the website CAParentYouthHelpline.org has reached a million more.

Pion-Berlin noted a study in the Journal of Technology in Human Services found a call to the helpline can quickly ease parents' suffering and feelings of isolation.

"The research said that 85% of the callers in less than 30 minutes feel more positive, more hopeful and able to address their issues," Pion-Berlin reported. "There is no other service or pill I know that can do that in 30 minutes or less."

Parents Anonymous also offers free weekly support groups to steer parents and kids through emotional crises of all kinds.