Jefferson County, Missouri — From years of COVID-19 isolation to the recent mass school shooting, many school officials say anxiety among children has reached an all-time high, and schools are I am asking for help.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rates of adolescent suicide, self-harm, anxiety and depression are rising.

Jefferson R-7 School District Intervention Specialist Steve Horn says the May 24 shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, sparked his commitment to prioritizing mental health resources for students. rice field.

This comes when he sees an increase in student deaths that he believes could have been prevented.

“The increase we’ve seen across the county happened a lot in 2018 and 2019. We saw an increase in school age suicides in our county,” he said.

The youngest at that time was under 15 years old. Over the years, he has watched children as young as 11 struggle with suicidal thoughts.

“We’ve seen a significant increase in anxiety and depression among the school-age population,” Horn said.

Motivated by all of this, Horn helped develop new mental health tools.

A waiver signed by a parent or guardian allows students access to mental health self-screening tools. Have students answer a variety of questions and assign a risk level based on their answers. Once the student has completed the screening, alert the counselor and connect the student to other appropriate resources.

It’s a tool that has been developed over the years. It’s part of a new pilot program that uses approximately $700,000 in local, state, and federal grants secured by county health departments.

“Based on your level of need, we identify the most appropriate service,” he said.

“What if they didn’t have insurance?” I-Team’s Paula Vasan asked.

“Exclude all services they have available,” Horn said.

New mental health resources are rolling out slowly. It could be available to about 13,000 students in Jefferson County in the fall.

RELATED: Jefferson County Health Department Launches Mental Health Platform for Students

At his school, Horn found that about one in five students had considered suicide. Management wanted to intervene early. The result, Horn said, is a resource that will revolutionize how students identify when they need help.

Nine-year-old Nora Metiva is one of those students. Chelsea Koenig is her therapist. I see her every week at school for her hour.

“What does Chelsea mean to you?” Vasan asked.

“A good friend,” said Metiva, a fourth grader at Telegraph Middle School.

Metiva said a therapist at her school has been helping her navigate life with autism. Teach coping skills. Having this resource at her school means convenience and more support.

According to the nonprofit National Council for Mental Wellbeing, research shows that the average waiting time for a behavioral therapist in the United States is 48 days.

On-campus therapists mean less bureaucracy and faster care. Nora got her paired with Koenig in less than a week.

“How do you think all schools would benefit from having something like this?” Vasan asked.

“I would expect serious problems like suicide to go down significantly, and depression and anxiety to go down,” Koenig said.

Koenig says one of her biggest obstacles to treatment is stigma. But it’s not among children. It’s between their parents.

“They are scared,” Koenig said. They don’t want others to know what’s going on, but it’s all a secret. “

Another big obstacle is funding.

“We hope the governor will create an item in the state budget to help schools provide school-based mental health services to their students,” Horn said.

He believes more funding will help meet desperate needs.Surveys show that about half of U.S. children with mental health problems do not receive treatment.

“In my opinion, it’s about simplifying this process that felt too complicated. What does it take? How do you meet that need, and what’s the easiest way to get there?” He said.

The governor’s office declined our interview request. Officials with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education say it’s up to schools to decide how to distribute available resources and prioritize mental health. But many school leaders say it’s a problem. Because schools are forced to choose between education and mental health.

State Department of Education spokesperson Mallory McGowin issued the following statement to 5 On Your Side:

Local school districts often need to prioritize mental health support and funding for programs alongside other locally established budgetary efforts, but especially through federal relief funds, if the school district is free of charge. There are many resources that can be accessed at

In a national survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted online on behalf of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, 43% of U.S. adults said they used drugs or needed mental health care in the past 12 months. was found not to have received that care. And the many barriers to access that stand between them and the treatment they need.

About one in six young people has made a plan to attempt suicide in the past year, according to a spokesperson for Mental Health First Aid. This is an increase of about 44% for him since 2009. is an awareness and education program that teaches individuals to identify, understand, and respond to the signs and symptoms of mental health or substance use challenges to prevent it from becoming a crisis.

According to the National Library of Medicine, the average time between a person’s first mental health problem diagnosis and first treatment is 11 years. However, the longer it takes to get help, the more difficult recovery can be.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has a list of mental health resources for school staff and students and an ABC Guide to Children’s Mental Health. The department also offers a trauma-based treatment model.

The Educational Safety Center of the Missouri State Board of Education Association is a statewide resource available to all Missouri schools. The center provides technical assistance, training, and other resources for school safety.

The Missouri Behavioral Health Council has a network of Youth Behavioral Health Liaisons that community schools can use to improve outcomes for students with behavioral health problems.

Missouri’s fiscal 2023 budget included the following mental health-related initiatives:

• $2.5 million for school safety programs.
• $1.9 million for school safety application programs in all school districts statewide. Provide 911 services and on-duty and off-duty personnel through law enforcement alert systems.
• $1 million for safe school programs and behavioral health services.
• $100,000 to the Mental Health Coordinator of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

If you or someone you know needs help, call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (988). Hours a day, seven days a week. We are committed to improving crisis response services and promoting suicide prevention by empowering individuals, promoting professional best practices and raising awareness.

Anyone seeking treatment for a mental health condition should call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Helpline at 800-662-HELP (4357) or visit findtreat.samhsa.gov.

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