Racine Sun

A U.S. Representative from Wisconsin who is known to schedule children’s mental health forums recently cited a New York Times article in advocating against COVID-19-related school closures.

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R) even in August 2020 scheduled a virtual Children’s Mental Health Forum to bring attention to understanding the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on children, the Kenosha News said.

“The negative effects of school closures are all too real and need to be discussed. Even The New York Times is now raising this concern,” Steil tweeted, referring to the article “No Way to Grow Up” in The New York Times.

A National State of Emergency in Children’s Mental Health has been declared by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Children’s Hospital Association because of the coronavirus pandemic’s intensification of mental health issues. Among things the groups are advocating for is increased federal funding to address mental-health needs, including mental-health screening, diagnosis and treatment.

“This worsening crisis in child and adolescent mental health is inextricably tied to the stress brought on by COVID-19 and the ongoing struggle for racial justice and represents an acceleration of trends observed prior to 2020,” the declaration said. “Rates of childhood mental health concerns and suicide rose steadily between 2010 and 2020 and by 2018 suicide was the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10-24.”

Mental health–related emergency department visits by adolescents aged 12–17 increased 31% from 2019 to 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. 

“In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, ED visits for suspected suicide attempts began to increase among adolescents aged 12–17 years, especially girls,” the CDC said. “During Feb. 21–March 20, 2021, suspected suicide attempt ED visits were 50.6% higher among girls aged 12–17 years than during the same period in 2019; among boys aged 12–17 years, suspected suicide attempt ED visits increased 3.7%.”

In 2021, the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory about the negative impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had on the mental health of children.

“Mental health challenges in children, adolescents and young adults are real, and they are widespread,” the advisory said. “But most importantly, they are treatable, and often preventable. This Advisory shows us how. As we learn the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, and start recovering and rebuilding, we have an opportunity to offer a more comprehensive, more fulfilling and more inclusive vision of what constitutes public health.”