Young people with extreme emotional difficulties and tendencies for self-harm and suicidal behaviors need additional local services, the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury found in a recent investigation.
The report says the county's Department of Behaviorial Wellness needs to improve delivery of crisis responses, provide advanced training for contract services providers, and develop crisis-respite shelters.
"Addressing these deficiencies in county crisis services will provide desperately needed care to the youngest among us, and also provide some relief and assurance to those distraught parents and caregivers who also face these challenges with them," the Grand Jury concluded.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of children ages 2 through 8, one in six has a mental, behavioral or developmental disorder. The most common are depression, anxiety, and behaviorial disorders.
About 80 percent of chronic mental disorders begin in childhood, with half of the illnesses beginning by age 14. The problems are most severe between the ages of 12 and 17.
One of the main problems with the local system, according to the report, is that all children’s psychiatric hospitals are located outside of Santa Barbara County.
If beds are available, children are transferred to Aurora Vista del Mar Hospital in Ventura, or as far away as San Francisco and San Diego.
Parents of children transported out of the county for services told the jury that it put additional stress on them.
"The stressors for children, parents and caregivers included the long distance from home and the difficulty communicating with both the child in the hospital and medical professionals attending to the child," the report states. "Some of these stressors might have been alleviated if crisis-respite shelters had been available locally."
The services that do exist, the report states, are largely unknown to people who need them.
The YouthWell Coalition, Family Service Agency, peer and parents’ support groups, and off-campus and school-based programs offer information, education, and coping skills, but many people throughout the county are unaware of them, the Grand Jury found.
Most families or caregivers usually call 9-1-1 or go to the closest emergency room when there is a crisis, but those facilities are "not equipped to provide the calming and therapeutic environment needed to manage behavioral-health crises," the report states.
The jury said there's a need for more private psychiatrists, pediatricians who are experienced in diagnosing and treating mental illness and co-existing disorders, case managers who can navigate the complicated systems of health care and insurance companies, and in-county, short-term facilities for crisis de-escalation.
Early intervention is needed, the report states. There's also a need for more shelter services.
"Establishing and maintaining local sheltered environments where children and youth in crisis can go to cool off and stabilize while on-going safety plans are developed, may improve their mental health and wellbeing and will hopefully avert future crises," the report states.
Mental health disorders lead to consequences such as low self-esteem, inability to attain normal developmental markers and cope well with the stressors of life. Children with these conditions also engage in poor decision-making and have a tendency to be socially bullied, shamed or stigmatized, according to the report.
The trend toward negative psychological symptoms among children and youth can be attributed to an increase in social media use. In addition, genetics, physical health issues, history of abuse, unstable home life, and environmental stressors can be causative factors, the report states.
June 17, 2019
Noozhawk Santa Barbara
By Joshua Molina
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