New partnership focuses on behavioral health of Nevada’s youth
Nevada Medicaid and the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada have teamed up to help kids overcome barriers to behavioral health treatment.
The push for partnership stems from the rates of depression and anxiety tripling among youth nationwide since 2019 — which may be linked to challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We need to expand our abilities to detect when youth are experiencing distress and connect them to the services they need before a severe crisis develops,” said Stephanie Woodard, senior adviser on behavioral health for the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.
The state announced the partnership the day after the Department of Justice confirmed its investigation into whether Nevada unnecessarily relies on institutions — both in and out of state — to treat children with behavioral health conditions.
This is the second known DOJ investigation in the state this year. On Jan. 7, the agency announced it had opened an investigation into the use of pepper spray at two juvenile correctional facilities run by the Nevada Juvenile Justice Services Agency: the Nevada Youth Training Center in Elko and the Summit View Youth Center in Las Vegas.
Karla Delgado, social services chief for the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, noted that the number of out-of-state placements has been reduced in the last five years.
The latest investigation stems from a complaint, filed with the DOJ by the Nevada Disability Advocacy and Law Center, detailing the state’s lack of available, community-based mental health treatment for children and adolescents.
The Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada started to address the issue two years ago when it applied for and was awarded a nearly $200,000 grant to hire two therapists and to cover travel, supplies, equipment and other needs.
By working with Medicaid, the nonprofit will be a health care provider that can bill Medicaid, and the club is anticipating enough demand to hire three additional therapists.
“Parents may have difficulty getting kids services, whether it’s time, knowing where to go, or expense,” Andy Bischel, Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada president and CEO, said in a statement. “We already have the kids, let’s eliminate those barriers and bring the services directly to the families we serve.”
Las Vegas Councilman Brian Knudsen worked with the agencies to bring them together.
“It’s already hard enough being a young person, navigating the world, and then without friends and other families, it can be even harder,” Knudsen said in a statement. “This is the silent, emotional part of this pandemic that we can’t keep sweeping under the rug.”
Those who want to apply for Nevada Medicaid should visit https://accessnevada.dwss.nv.
Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on Twitter.