Adolescence Mental Health in Title I Schools

The Fight For Help With Adolescent Mental Health

Approximately 21% of children and adolescents, ages 9 to 17, have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder, whether it’s ADHD, autism, depression, or anxiety to name a few. These numbers are growing constantly and there are millions of children and adolescents that don’t get the help that they need for a lot of different reasons such as cost, transportation, and stigma. Offering services in a familiar setting like schools may make treatment more acceptable since many children already receive school-based services for non-mental health concerns. Services that are offered at school allow children and adolescents get the help that they need because mental health staff are able to see them more often and by not having to take them out of a setting that is familiar to them.

Adolescents/Youth

The target audience that I have chosen to focus on is children and adolescents ages 9-17 and their families, Title 1 schools, and the community members in rural and urban areas of Idaho. My rationale for this is that there is very little help for these kids in school because there is not enough training for teachers to be able to help their students be successful along with counselors not always being available to help their students. Most families that live in with in a Title 1 school district live at or below the poverty line which means their children either get free meals at school or they pay a reduces amount for school meals. Most children/adolescents don't get the help that they need because of the stigma that they have to face, the cost of treatment, and because they feel like no one is there to listen. In order for anything to be done there needs to be more awareness of just how much our students struggle and need help so that they are able to be successful in school all the way to graduation and there after.

Title 1 Schools

Most schools that are in rural and urban areas in Idaho, the entire number of students that attend those schools are 500 or less, that is counting students k-12, and in order for there to be a full time psychiatrist and/or counselor in each school, there has to be a minimum of 1,500 students. A title 1 school is a school receiving federal funds and the basic principle of Title 1 is that schools with large concentrations of low-income students will receive supplemental funds to assist in meeting student’s educational goals. The number of low-income students is determined by the number of students enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program. Title 1 funds can be used to improve curriculum, instructional activities, counseling, parental involvement, and increase staff and program improvement. The funding assists schools in meeting the educational goals of low-income students.

Adolescent Mental Health

It is estimated that as many as 21 percent of school-aged children in the United States have a diagnosable mental health conditions, and schools are the primary location where children receive mental health services. Because of limited resources, school-community partnerships are recommended in the literature as a best practice for providing comprehensive school-based mental health services, but few empirical studies of such partnerships have been published. School mental health programs offer increased accessibility to a student by reducing many of the barriers to seeking care in traditional settings. Having to make an appointment for a student that works with the parent’s schedule because of work, having to find child care for younger siblings or having to find a way to get their child to the appointment on time is a challenge for a lot of parents but also for students there is a lot of stigmatism that is associated with asking, and getting help.