Indiana names nonprofit Child Advocates as youth mental health resource
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time when attention is given to the growing issue and how it impacts children.
Roughly 1 in 6 youths are dealing with a mental health issues, according to the Indy nonprofit agency Child Advocates.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction has named the nonprofit as the state’s access point to connect children to mental health resources.
Since rolling the program out Monday, nearly 50 cases have been referred.
Representatives of Child Advocates say, with child suicide rates growing, it’s important to act now.
Mental health issues reaches into every pocket of the population, and some of the youngest are feeling it’s impact even harder. Of the 1 in 6 children coping with mental health trauma, only half will seek treatment.
“Mental illness and its treatment is a really important issue right now. All of us know how the pandemic affected us,” said Cindy Booth, executive director of Child Advocates.
The Division of Mental Health and Addiction is named as the single statewide access site for a new program. It’s called the Children’s Mental Health Wraparound. This program provides support to Hoosier kids battling serious mental health and behavioral issues.
Families can now stream line access to support by dialing 211 and offering up keywords like “mental health” and “wraparound services.”
The resources will be available at lowered cost or free to families who qualify for Medicaid. Families who don’t qualify can still get support independently through Child Advocates.
“One of the directives we have from the DMHA, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, is to reach out to African-American, Latino, and LGBTQ+ communities,” Booth said. “Certain things that have happened in their community are not as good.”
Representatives say the isolation of the coronavirus pandemic, a general unrest, and the protests around social justice have mentally impacted kids. “We need to pay attention to that. We can’t just see that and say, ‘Well, that’s just what happened in a pandemic.’ We really need to take care of that,” Booth said.
Child Advocates leaders also say they are going to work with outside agencies to meet the need as they adjust to an influx of cases.