Congressional Directive Spending Project - The pandemic was a natural disaster and a mass trauma, and posed an unprecedent threat to the social and emotional well-being of children, youth and young adults. Mental illness, educational learning loss, and negative behaviors in classrooms are at an all-time high. Students are experiencing high levels of anxiety, depression, less frustration tolerance and decreased social skills. Schools continue to face severe staff shortages and reduced access to mental health professionals. Parents report an increase in parenting behaviors which include, verbal aggression, physical punishment and neglectful actions towards minors. In the proposed service area Part II crimes that include crimes against children and spousal abuse have increased and child welfare workers report referrals to the hotline and emergency rooms to be of a much more serious nature than pre-pandemic. To mitigate the devastating consequences of the pandemic to minors, youth, parents, schools and first responders this proposal will increase access to mental health services, provide parent education, provided educational therapy to address learning loss, offer training in trauma informed classrooms, present mindfulness workshops in classrooms, educate a new cadre of Marriage and Family Graduate students in the treatment of complex behavioral issues in minors and youth post pandemic to increase the mental health workforce, provide prevention strategies to identify and reduce poor mental health train first responders in minimal facts interviewing to reduce systems induced trauma, and improve coordination of care through an electronic health care records system.
