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Children 0-8 Years Need More Access To Mental Health Services In Utah

Kem C. Gardner

On Wednesday morning, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute released a report outlining the costs and impacts of not addressing mental health issues in early childhood.

The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah holds a monthly Newsmaker event to highlight important issues in Utah. With early intervention, childhood mental health issues can be addressed in a way that shapes the rest of a person’s life. Senior Research Associate Samantha Ball at the Gardner Institute says the report looks at services for children in Utah from age 0 to 8 years old.

"Supporting mental healthcare as young as possiible maximizes the difference that you can make in children's lives. It supports current future health, and it reduces the likelihood of a range of other life outcomes, including cost of future services and lost productivity. So, the report is organized with an overview of risk and then the regional programs, and it mentions some of the potential return on investment."

Ball says they reviewed risk measures like childhood abuse, including sexual, emotional, and physical. Other adverse childhood experiences were evaluated, such as neglect and dysfunctional household experiences such as violence.

“So, more than one in six children in Utah, ages 0 to 17 have experienced two or more adverse childhood experiences. It's also important to look at data in terms of race and ethnicity. Adverse childhood experiences disproportionately impact Utah’s minority populations. Close to 31% of American Indian or Alaskan native adults are experiencing four or more adverse childhood experiences, and also the rates are disproportionately high for black or African American adults, or those who identify as two or more races.”

Ball says poverty is another major barrier to child development. It can cause health problems, increase the risk of children falling behind in school, and create social, emotional, and behavioral challenges.

“While the percentage of children in Utah is actually low compared to the national rate, it's about 10% compared to an 18% national rate, this isn't true for all populations or all areas. There are some small areas with higher poverty rates for children in Utah and those are Rose Park, Glendale, South Salt Lake and those are all in Salt Lake County. The three Salt Lake County areas have percentages close to double the national rate for poverty and the one in San Juan is close. It shows that almost half the kids are living in poverty.”

Ball reports that Utah has one of the nation’s highest incidence of mental health issues among youth aged six to 17. Also, Utah ranks as one of the highest states in untreated mental health needs. Her report estimates that 50 to 100,000 children, ages 0 to 8, experience mental health issues.

“Mental emotional and behavioral disorders among youth is 247 billion dollars per year ways to me about between 10 to 20% of Utah's 458,000 children ages 0 to 8 might experience mental, emotional development or behavioral challenges.”

The study evaluated access to mental health services. Many rural families must travel long distances to get mental health care for their children.

“You have hours long drives reported in rural areas and that's especially the case if you are in need of on-going more intensive services for your child. Each just represents a different obstacle to access. Other barriers to care that would include cost, and that was even the case for people who are insured. Also, transportation, and waiting lists, and the number of bilingual and multicultural professionals that are available.”

Ball concludes that more data is needed, such as more consistent use of screening tools and reporting on numbers of children 0 to 8 receiving services. She wants to see more ROI studies directly focused on early childhood mental health programs and obtaining data from schools.

KPCW reports on issues affecting children age 0 through three years old is brought to you by the Early Childhood Fund at the Park City Community Foundation. For more information go to earlychildhoodalliance.net.  

KPCW reporter Carolyn Murray covers Summit and Wasatch County School Districts. She also reports on wildlife and environmental stories, along with breaking news. Carolyn has been in town since the mid ‘80s and raised two daughters in Park City.
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