The Washington Post: The Kids Are Not Okay, and D.C. Schools Stand to Lose Critical Therapists

In a piece written during the height of the DC 2024 budget oversight season, Washington Post reporter Theresa Vargas dives into the lack of funding for behavioral health clinicians in DC schools. Judith Sandalow of Children’s Law Center, a member of the Strengthening Families Coalition, is quoted:

“In a year of tough choices, we urge you to continue to prioritize addressing the youth mental health crisis,” Judith Sandalow, the executive director of Children’s Law Center, said in testimony delivered at a budget hearing on Friday. “Unless there is sufficient funding to allow [community-based organizations] to continue to offer competitive pay, incentives and professional support to clinicians, the entire program is at risk.”

As proof of the need, Sandalow cited the findings of a 2021 DC Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Some of the data she noted: 28 percent of middle school students have seriously thought about killing themselves, about 12 percent of middle and high school students have taken prescription pain medicine without a doctor’s prescription, and more than 19 percent of middle school students and more than 25 percent of high school students reported that their mental health was “not good” most of the time or always.