Biden administration rolls out plan to address students' mental health

THROUGH THE TOUGH MOMENTS. IT HAS BEEN A RELENTLESS YEAR AND A A NEW TERM BECOMES PART OF HALF. OUR LIVES AND IT DOESN’T LET .GO COVID 19. AND WHETHER WE LIKET IOR NOT, IT IMPACTS EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US. AND WHILE WE ARE TRYING WRAP OUR MINDS ARNDOU THAT, ENTER SOCIALR UNREST. THE CHAOS OF THE ELECTION. AND THEN THE POLITICS OVER VACCINATIONS. >> IT’S MADE IT VERY CLEAR HOW DIVIDED WE ARE. HOW UNCOOPERATIVE WE ARE WITH EACH OTHER. >> IF YOU PEIL ON THE FACT THAT WE ARE TOLD TO SOCIAL DISTANCE, WORK FROM HOME, PEOPLE LOSING THEIR JOBS, BUSINESSES SHUTTING WNDO, PARENTS BECOMING TEACHERS, HAVING TO HOMESCHOOL THEIR KIDS, NOT HUGGING THE PEOPLE WE LOVE, EVEN NOT BNGEI ABLE TO FIND SOMETHING LIKE TOITLE PAPER, NO WONDER WE ARE ALL MENTALLY EXHAUSTED, WE SHOULD BE. >> IT IS A CHANGE OF LIFE. WE WON FROM ONE WHERE WE COULD DO WHATEVER WE WANT. NOW YOU MIGHT BE IN A CROWD AND SOMEBODY SNEEZESN I YOUR FIRST THOUGHT IS, WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN TO ME? >> FINDING THAT GOOD BALANCE OF HOME LIFE AND RKWO LIFE AND JTUS BEING TOGETHER IN SUCH SMALL QUARTERS ALL DAY LONG. >> JUST THE ABILITY TO TOUCH ANOTHER HUMAN, TO HUG. I THINK WE LOST THAT. HOPEFULLY, WE WILL REGAIN IT SOON. >> THEN WE TURN A CORNER, WE SEE HOPE, AND HERE COMES THE DELTA VARIANT. ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, NEARLY HALF OFLL A ADULTS REPORTED THEIR STRESS LEVEL INCREASED BIG-TIME DURING THE PANDEMIC. THEY HAVE GAINED WEIGHT, THEY CAN’T EESLP, THEY ARE TURNING TO DRUGS OR ALCOHOL. THIS DOCTOR IS A PSYCHIATRIST FROM TUFTS. SHE SAYS THERERE A WAYS WE CAN ALL GET THROUGH THIS TOGETHER. >> SOME INDIVIDUALS HAVE FOUND IT HELPFUL TO EXERCISE. WITH A LOT OF WORK BNGEI REMOTE, FINDING THE TIME TO TGE UP, CHANGE SCENERY, GET OUT OF PAJAMAS, FIND A WAY TO BRK EAUP THE DAY, GIVE YOURSELF A SCHEDULE IF YOU FIND YOU ARE FALLING INTO A RUT. TEA HEALTHIER, DRINK LESS. IT MAKES US FEEL BETTER. IT HELPS US SAY, I’M GOING TO GET TO THE NEXT DAY. IT HAS IMPACTED US DIFFERENTLY, AND THAT DOES NOT MEAN SOMEONE IS WEAKER THAN ANOTHER. IT IS JUST HOW ALL OF OUR SOCIAL CIUMRCSTANCES HAVE BEEN AFFECTED. USING ABOUT WARS. YOU THINK ABOUT DEPRESSIONS WITHIN OUR GOVERNMENT. TURMOIL. IT CHANGES PEOPLE. NO, WE WON’T BE THE PEOPLE WE WERE, BUT WE WILL BE STRONGER HAVING COME OUT OF THIS. >> YOU BELIEVE THAT? >> I DO. >>OW H DO WE GET STRONGER TOGETHER? >> TOGETHER. TOGETHER. MARIA: TOGETHER. ED: TOGETHER. MARIA: WE HAVE BEEN TOGETHER IN HERE. IT DOES MATTER, FINDING THAT CONNECTION MATTERS. HAS THE PAST YEAR BEEN HARD ON YOU? I ASKED HER. SHE SAID, YES. SHE SAID, I SOUGHT COUNSEL OMFR TRUSTED COLLEAGUES SO I COULD MANAGE MY OWN STRESS. ED: WHAT DO REGULAR JOE’S DO? MARIA: DURING COMMERCIAL BREAK, I SIMPLY AND THIS IS WHAT THE DOCTOR SAYS FOR YOU TO DO, I SIMP TLYYPED IN GOOGLE, WHERE CAN I TGE HELP FOR MENTAL HEALTH MASSACHUSETTS? BUT THAT THIS. EVERYWHERE. THERE ARE CRISIS NUMBERS. THERE IS A LOT OF FREE HELP AS WELL. THEY SAID THAT IS THE NUMBER ONE THING YOU CAN DO TO MANAGE THIS. JUST MAKE THE PHONE CALL AND SAY, THIS HAS BEEN HARD ON ME. EVEN IF NOTHING HAS EVER BEEN HARD ON YOU AND YOUR LIFE. THIS HAS BEEN HA ORDN EVERYBODY.

The Biden administration on Tuesday released a plan to address rising mental health concerns among students in schools across the country.The plan from the U.S. Department of Education, titled "Supporting Child and Student Social, Emotional, Behavioral and Mental Health," comes as young people continue to struggle with their mental health as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.The plan lays out seven critical areas of difficulty educators and care providers may experience when it comes to addressing the mental health of young people and includes a corresponding seven-point list of recommendations aimed at helping schools' and providers improve the emotional well-being of students and children.The Department of Education noted that young people struggled with mental health before the COVID-19 pandemic, key data points from the last 18 months demonstrate "the need for urgent action," such as increased mental health connected emergency department visits, according to the report.The recommendations from the Department of Education — which apply to early-childhood, K-12 and higher education — the plan says, include suggestions to "enhance mental health literacy and reduce stigma and other barriers to access," "enhance workforce capacity," and "use data for decision making to promote equitable implementation and outcomes."Congress authorized more than $190 billion to help America's schools reopen and stay open during the pandemic — some of which could be spent on mental health services in schools.While a lot of those funds were initially used to buy PPE, upgrade ventilation and boost summer school programs, as of September, CNN reported, there were still billions of dollars left to be spent.Tuesday's plan calls for schools and programs to "leverage policy and funding.""Our efforts as educators must go beyond literacy, math, history, science, and other core subjects to include helping students to build the social, emotional, and behavioral skills they will need to fully access and participate in learning and make the most of their potential and future opportunities," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement."Amid the pandemic, we know that our students have experienced so much. We can't unlock students' potential unless we also address the needs they bring with them to the classroom each day. As educators, it's our responsibility to ensure that we are helping to provide students with a strong social and emotional foundation so that they also can excel academically," he said.With its plan, the Department of Education points to school districts and programs across the country — in states such as New Jersey, California, Oregon and Vermont — that have already implemented successful techniques for improving students' mental health. Examples include a peer-based initiative for college students in California, youth advisory councils funded by the state legislature in Oregon and a program to support students of military families started by the Military Child Education Coalition.The resource comes after mental health advocates and doctors earlier this year called on the Biden administration to address the youth mental health concerns that have coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Biden administration on Tuesday released a plan to address rising mental health concerns among students in schools across the country.

The from the U.S. Department of Education, titled "Supporting Child and Student Social, Emotional, Behavioral and Mental Health," comes as young people continue to struggle with their mental health as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plan lays out seven critical areas of difficulty educators and care providers may experience when it comes to addressing the mental health of young people and includes a corresponding seven-point list of recommendations aimed at helping schools' and providers improve the emotional well-being of students and children.

The Department of Education noted that young people struggled with mental health before the COVID-19 pandemic, key data points from the last 18 months demonstrate "the need for urgent action," such as increased mental health connected emergency department visits, according to the report.

The recommendations from the Department of Education — which apply to early-childhood, K-12 and higher education — the plan says, include suggestions to "enhance mental health literacy and reduce stigma and other barriers to access," "enhance workforce capacity," and "use data for decision making to promote equitable implementation and outcomes."

Congress authorized more than $190 billion to help America's schools reopen and stay open during the pandemic — some of which could be spent on mental health services in schools.

While a lot of those funds were initially used to buy PPE, upgrade ventilation and boost summer school programs, as of September, CNN reported, there were still billions of dollars left to be spent.

Tuesday's plan calls for schools and programs to "leverage policy and funding."

"Our efforts as educators must go beyond literacy, math, history, science, and other core subjects to include helping students to build the social, emotional, and behavioral skills they will need to fully access and participate in learning and make the most of their potential and future opportunities," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

"Amid the pandemic, we know that our students have experienced so much. We can't unlock students' potential unless we also address the needs they bring with them to the classroom each day. As educators, it's our responsibility to ensure that we are helping to provide students with a strong social and emotional foundation so that they also can excel academically," he said.

With its plan, the Department of Education points to school districts and programs across the country — in states such as New Jersey, California, Oregon and Vermont — that have already implemented successful techniques for improving students' mental health. Examples include a peer-based initiative for college students in California, youth advisory councils funded by the state legislature in Oregon and a program to support students of military families started by the Military Child Education Coalition.

The resource comes after mental health advocates and doctors earlier this year called on the Biden administration to address the youth mental health concerns that have coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic.

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