Children’s mental health is an essential component of their overall health and well-being, affecting how they cope with stress, build relationships, and operate at school and in their broader community. Although mental health and physical health are equally important and deeply interconnected, many families are unable to access timely, effective, and culturally responsive mental health care.
Additionally, while rising rates of mental health challenges predate COVID-19, heightened stress, grief, social isolation, and economic insecurity throughout the pandemic have exacerbated these challenges. According to the US National Survey of Children’s Health (2016–2020), children from birth to age 17 years experienced significant increases in diagnosed anxiety and depression, decreases in physical activity, and decreases in caregiver mental and emotional well-being and coping with parenting demands. However, the good news is that agencies and organizations have many evidence-based policy options to equitably promote children’s mental health.
ChangeLab Solutions invites you to participate in our webinar series Meeting the Challenge: Evidence-Based Policies to Support Children’s Mental Health & Well-Being. Supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this series brings together researchers, federal partners, national leaders, and ChangeLab Solutions staff to discuss policy options that promote children’s mental health.
This three-part webinar series will explore equitable policy options in the following areas:
- Income & housing
- Workforce & health care
- School discipline policies — coming in May!
Attendees will receive access to recent resources to help promote children’s mental health and well-being.
