Alabama, Hawaii`I, kentucky, new jersey, oklahomaand Virginia will join the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) Policy Academy, which promotes thriving youth mental health and well-being. Policy Academy will help advance comprehensive efforts to protect and support strong youth mental health and mental health across state agencies, including strategies across prevention, awareness, treatment, and community and youth engagement We offer participating states a year-long opportunity to
The Policy Academy will build on the 2022-2023 Chairman's Initiative on Strengthening Youth Mental Health, which culminated in the Handbook for Governors released in July 2023. As young people across the country face unprecedented mental health challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor said they are committed to building national systems and supports to meet the mental health needs of today's youth. We continue to work on ways to strengthen the.
With support from the Youth Science Translation Fund, the Penner Family Foundation, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Policy Academy will support six participating states to advance youth mental health and well-being through a variety of state-led approaches. . Created a youth mental health enhancement handbook, developed a statewide strategic plan, and identified specific areas of interest such as school-based mental health supports, mental health workforce development, and population-specific and culturally relevant mental health care. is targeting. The project will also help the state leverage and incorporate youth perspectives, which are an important part of realizing the state's goals and policy goals throughout the project. Youth from each state in the Policy Academy will participate in the first NGA-sponsored Youth Advisory Council. This will help inform states of best practices in incorporating lived experience perspectives into policymaking structures and decisions.
Throughout the year, participating countries receive ongoing technical support from NGA, specialized partners, and the Policy Academy's Youth Advisory Board to advance the goals, participate in monthly virtual learning and peer-sharing opportunities, report on progress, and learn from Share the lessons learned. While NGA has received a formal application to more than double the technical assistance slots available, NGA will continue to work with its member network, which includes the Youth Mental Health Learning Network alongside the Policy Academy, and these best practices and learnings. We're excited to continue supporting all states and territories by sharing opportunities. . For more information on application focus areas and trends, see:
The Policy Academy will officially open on March 20, when state teams will convene for collaborative learning and action planning with state colleagues and subject matter experts from across the country.
Snapshot from the state application:
- Most states and territories reported a desire to develop systems of collaboration across various state agencies, including child welfare, human services, health, education, workforce development, and youth justice.
- In defining the current state of youth mental health in each state, the applicants universally noted continued historic levels of reported anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Many states also report continued overutilization of emergency departments for crisis intervention and unaffordability of care for youth.
- Many states focus on various at-risk youth populations, including youth who drop out of school before graduation, youth from low-income families, youth with co-occurring disorders and substance use, and youth in child welfare and justice-involved situations. I guessed.
- Many states reported a trend toward increasingly incorporating youth voices into needs assessments and program design, including the development of governor's youth councils, youth data collection including surveys and focus groups, and listening sessions with youth participants. .
- State goals for Policy Academy project outcomes include creating a more coherent and sustainable state-led youth care system, increasing the accessibility of culturally relevant mental health care, and providing needed care and This includes reducing the burden on families and young people to use services.
Please contact Jess Kirchner (jkirchner@nga.org) or Jordan Hines (jhynes@nga.org) Have any questions?
