RICHMOND, Va. – Voices for Virginia’s Children announced its support of nine budget amendments from a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers to improve mental health support for children. Funding proposals from eight legislators will integrate mental health in school settings, address workforce shortages, and create a Behavioral Health Commission task force for the state to find ways to support local-level services.

“On top of the very normal and expected challenges of being a teen, a tween, or a young adult, we know that the last 22 months has brought additional disruption, grief, and loss,” said Amy Strite, Chief Executive Officer of Voices for Virginia’s Children. “To all youth, we hear you, we see you, and we support you.”

On January 28, the children’s advocacy organization hosted a press conference with youth advocates and mental health professionals alongside Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond), Del. Emily Brewer (R-Suffolk), Del. Carrie Coyner (R-Chesterfield), and Del. Cia Price (D-Newport News) to highlight the current crisis.

“As a parent to a first-grader and a sixth-grader, I’ve spent a lot of time watching my own children, talking to other parents, teachers, counselors, and members of the community,” said Sen. McClellan. “And one thing has become clear: unfortunately, our kids are not okay. Now is the time to act and to tell them we understand and we have their back.”

“Youth are being told their problems aren’t bad enough and they don’t meet the criteria to receive services,” youth advocate Melissa Gillam added. “They’re being turned away. Our children and young adults are looking to you and pleading for help.”

The budget amendments represent a sea change in how lawmakers, communities, and educators understand children’s mental health. The pandemic has clarified long-standing threats to children’s health, such as economic precarity, bullying, social media use, acialized trauma, and disordered eating. For a decade, policymakers have written off shortages for psychological services and resources to confront these problems as over-use. We now understand the problem is underfunding.

Current resources dedicated to children’s mental health in Virginia are less than 10% of the system-level budget for the state behavioral health system. For legislators, parents, and families, amendments to the Virginia state budget will confront new realities in the children’s mental healthcare system.

Before the pandemic, only five counties in Virginia had enough child psychiatrists to meet community needs. After COVID-19, unprecedented outpatient care, residential care, and hospitalization have exhausted these resources.

“Virginia ranks 41st in 2021 for mental health workforce availability,” said Del. Brewer. “So this year, it’s going to be our goal to make sure that we address those issues and make sure that during the pandemic and long after, we address the needs of children and the mental health shortcomings in our Commonwealth.”

“Just as our students and our families are seeing more mental health challenges, our mental health providers are seeing more challenges as well,” said Del. Price. “This is going to take a holistic approach, and there are methods to try to address the workforce shortages directly through the budget and other means.”

Price notes the importance of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services using CARES Act funding and American Rescue Plan Act funding for mental health services, but “it didn’t always go to the private providers that can be helped with additional assistance like what we’re trying to do through the budget.”

Budget changes would allocate over $10 million into school-based early intervention programs and give parents and caregivers a broader, more holistic insight into their children’s mental health than an annual check-up or questionnaire.

“The Surgeon General and the American Academy of Pediatrics have declared Children’s mental health a national emergency,” noted Strite. “We must meet this moment now.”