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Tag: Children & Youth

December 13, 2024

TCDD Community Action Guide

SUMMARY - With funding from the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD), the Meadows Institute conducted research and facilitated three focus groups with young adults with developmental disabilities (DD) and mental health concerns. The...

TCDD Trauma & Grief Adults Children & Youth

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September 19, 2024

Senate Health and Human Services Committee

SUMMARY—On September 18, 2024, Andy Keller, the president and CEO of the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, provided invited testimony before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

Children & Youth Collaborative Care Legislative State Hospitals

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July 25, 2024

‘A Silent Public Health Crisis’

Shedding a light on the trauma of intergenerational incarceration JULY 26, 2024 As a trial court judge in Georgia’s most populous county, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert C. McBurney knows that the American justice…

Children & Youth Justice System

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June 26, 2024

The Need for a Pediatric Treatment Resistant Depression Center of Excellence

SUMMARY - Treatment resistant depression is a growing problem for children in Texas and the United States. Twenty percent of children experience an episode of major depression before adulthood and rates of reported depression...

Children & Youth Collaborative Care Collaborative Problem Solving P-TRD Program Design

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June 6, 2024

‘A Paradigm Shift’

Meadows Institute leaders call for expanding the crisis care continuum into pretrial detention From left: Yolanda Lewis, executive vice president for justice and health at the Meadows Institute, Tim Bray, vice president for justice and…

Children & Youth Justice & Health Smart Justice The First 48

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May 31, 2024

A Texas Solution to a National Challenge: How Telehealth Can Bolster Youth Mental Health in the Near-Term

SUMMARY - The nation’s young people are facing a growing mental health challenge, one that has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic and mental health workforce shortages. This extends to Texas children and youth...

Children & Youth Collaborative Care Collaborative Problem Solving Telehealth

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April 17, 2024

‘Go And Tell Your Story’

Meadows Institute experts share advice on speaking to lawmakers about pediatric integrated behavioral health care and the Collaborative Care Model at the AACAP legislative conference. The hundreds of child and adolescent psychiatrists from around the…

Children & Youth Collaborative Care Model Federal Policy Primary Care

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April 10, 2024

A gunman stole his twin from him. This is what he’s learned about grieving a sibling

This article was published by NPR on April 10, 2024. Read or listen to the full story on NPR’s website. Zion Kelly still thinks of himself as a twin. By the time he and his…

Children & Youth Trauma and Grief Trauma and Grief Center

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April 10, 2024

A gunman stole his twin from him. This is what he’s learned about grieving a sibling

This article was published by NPR on March 21, 2024. Read the full article on NPR’s website. Zion Kelly still thinks of himself as a twin. By the time he and his fraternal twin, Zaire, were in their mid-teens, people often mistook Zaire as the older of…

Children & Youth Trauma and Grief

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March 21, 2024

El Paso Behavioral Health Summit to focus on improving services for children and youth

This article was published by KFOX14 on March 21, 2024. Read the full article on KFOX14’s website. EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — A group of local leaders, brought together by the Paso del Norte Health Foundation, gathered…

Children & Youth El Paso Paso del Norte Center

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March 1, 2024

Aiming to address the youth behavioral health crisis, Hawaii experts look towards Texas initiatives

This article was published by State of Reform on March 1, 2024. Read the full article on State of Reform’s website. As more states across the nation ramp up efforts to increase and provide access to behavioral…

Children & Youth Legislative Workforce

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January 4, 2024

Silent struggles: Grieving Houston-area students’ well-being at stake as COVID-19 funds fade

This article was published by Houston Landing on January 4, 2024. Each day after his shift as a machine operator, Eliberto Ortega used to walk through the front door of his east Houston home, take…

Children & Youth COVID-19 Trauma and Grief Trauma and Grief Center

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January 2, 2024

Most Texans can’t find or afford mental health care, according to a new report

This article was originally published by Texas Public Radio on January 2, 2024. This story discusses data related to mental health. For resources and support, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or…

Children & Youth CPAN Suicide

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December 8, 2023

Mental health picture for North Texas kids is grim, but there is a silver lining

This opinion article was originally published by the Dallas Morning News on December 8, 2023. It is heartbreaking, although not surprising, to learn that our kids are struggling with their mental health. A recent report…

Children & Youth Suicide TCHATT

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November 29, 2023

Winners Announced: 2023 Excellence in Healthcare Awards

This article was originally published in D Magazine on November 29, 2023. D CEO revealed its Excellence in Healthcare winners for 2023 at a private event last night at On the Levee in the Design…

Children & Youth Schools and Education

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October 30, 2023

One Size Does Not Fit All: The Meadows Institute’s Dr. Julie Kaplow Discusses New Book on Supporting Bereaved Children

Dr. Kaplow’s new book, “Multidimensional Grief Therapy: A Flexible Approach to Assessing and Supporting Bereaved Youth” This month, to help us commemorate National Children’s Grief Awareness Month, we were privileged to sit down for a…

Children & Youth Grief Multidimensional Grief Therapy Trauma and Grief Center

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September 25, 2023

Senator Cornyn hosts Dallas roundtable on fentanyl, touts bill to decriminalize test strips

This article was published by Dallas Morning News on September 25, 2023. Sen. John Cornyn wears a gray rubber bracelet under the cuff of his dress shirt. It is inscribed with angel wings and the…

Children & Youth

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September 15, 2023

Finalists Announced: D CEO’s 2023 Excellence in Healthcare Awards

This article was published by D Magazine on September 15, 2023. The region’s healthcare organizations continue to persevere, despite headwinds that have increased costs, ongoing threats in the workplace, and an ever-changing regulatory environment. North…

Children & Youth

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September 13, 2023

Network connects pediatricians with mental health professionals to treat growing number of children

This article was published by CBS Austin on September 13, 2023. Texas children have a hard time accessing mental health care, but a state program is helping pediatricians and primary care doctors fill the gap….

Children & Youth CPAN TCHATT

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September 7, 2023

Discussing school safety with kids

This article was published by Click2Houston on September 7, 2023. Students are well-informed about school safety and they probably have more opinions than you may know. That is why discussing fears or concerns with your…

Children & Youth Trauma Trauma and Grief Center

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This article was published by Click2Houston on September 7, 2023.

Students are well-informed about school safety and they probably have more opinions than you may know. That is why discussing fears or concerns with your student is important.

Julie Kaplow, Executive Director of Trauma and Grief at the Hackett Center for Mental Health said the conversation often goes two ways. Parents give too much information which overwhelms a child. Or they give no information at all, sending the message that the topic is too scary to talk about.

“Things that we often tell parents is really to let the child guide the conversation. So, for example, if a child hears about a school shooting, we often tell parents to, you know, ask them, ‘What have you heard about that event? And what worries do you have for me or what questions do you have for me?’” said Julie Kaplow, Executive Director of Trauma and Grief at the Hackett Center for Mental Health.

She encourages parents to listen closely to determine if their student has normal concerns versus an indication their child feels anxious.

“Child worries are things like, ‘How am I going to get my homework done or who am I going to play with over the weekend?’” Kaplow said. “If they seem very jumpy or on edge at their desk, oftentimes that’s a sign that a child might have some symptoms of post-traumatic stress that can often get confused with ADHD, where kids look hyperactive, but really they might just be hyper-vigilant because of something that recently happened to them. We also encourage, you know, teachers to look for signs that a child may be experiencing a lot of anxiety in the classroom where they are not speaking up as much, where they where they’re becoming more withdrawn in the classroom or even acting out behaviors. So with younger kids in particular, we often see behaviors like becoming more aggressive, more irritable, you know, even maybe physically hurting other kids. And sometimes that can be a sign that a child is either anxious or depressed, especially among the younger youth.”

SAFETY DRILLS

Whether parents and students should know when certain drills take place is better defined this year with a new bill.

While lockdowns, which are required, entail turning off lights and locking doors there needs to be a certain element of surprise in order to be taken seriously, according to Kathy Martinez-Prather, Director of the Texas School Safety Center.

Active threat exercises are not required but might involve first responders showing up. These must be communicated with families so the situation is not confused with a real shooting.

“In a full-scale exercise, it’s a bit more elevated because you’re introducing stressors. It’s usually a multi-jurisdictional collaboration with first responders involved and so the laws were particularly written (and rules with TEA) to ensure that when those types of drills are being done, because of the sensitive nature of them, that the public is being notified, parents are being notified, it’s voluntary in nature,” Martinez-Prather said. “We have mental health professionals on-site when these drills are taking place.”

Teaching them to be prepared without adding more stress and confusion is a step in the right direction according to Kaplow.

“Where we worry is when kids are not prepared, where they don’t understand that this is not real and for some of our younger kids, that can happen more frequently, especially kindergartners. Sometimes (they) can’t really distinguish when it’s actually a drill versus something that’s actually happening in real life,” Kaplow explained. “We want to make sure that parents are aware when they’re happening, that the kids are aware that this is a drill, and that teachers are prepared to identify kids who might need a little bit more support. So those kids in their classroom who tend to be a little more anxious, a little more on edge, maybe providing them with a little bit more support and guidance during those drills.”

Identifying those kids is important, but can be a struggle for teachers, admits school counselor Amanda French.

“They can make the difference,” French explained.

IN GALENA PARK, THE HACKETT CENTER IS DEVELOPING WAYS TO HELP EDUCATORS KNOW ABOUT TRAUMATIC ISSUES IN A CHILD’S HOME

“Basically, if a police officer goes to a scene where a child is present and recognizes that this could be traumatic, the police has a very streamlined way of getting in touch with the child’s school. The school is notified that this is a ‘handle with care student.’ And then from that point, the teacher is made aware that this is a child who might need a little more support if they notice any signs that the child might be experiencing post-traumatic stress. We train them in what to look for if they see those signs. The child is immediately referred for mental health intervention within the school. And this is really a unique way of ensuring that both the police and the schools are more trauma-informed and also recognizing that early intervention is key. So if a child does experience a traumatic event, getting that early intervention can actually prevent long-term suffering for that child,” Kaplow said.

So far the program called “handle with care” is only in Galena Park. The Hackett Center is working to expand to more school districts in Houston and Dallas.

WHAT CAN REVERSE THE AWFUL TREND OF KIDS STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL HEALTH?

“I think one of the things that we can do that really we have been doing for a little while now is encouraging kids to seek out help. Encouraging them to recognize that vulnerability is OK, and that it’s OK to ask for help. That it is actually very normal to be experiencing feelings of sadness or anxiety and that it’s not shameful,” Kaplow said. “I think another piece to this, too, is helping them understand that even though these events are so scary, they are very rare. So even though we’re hearing about it in the media, and they’re tragic when they do happen, they’re not happening all the time, even though sometimes it feels that way.”

Read the article on Click2Houston’s website.