Sound the Alarm for Kids and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus held the second in a series of roundtable discussions about the youth mental health crisis following the national emergency declaration by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) last fall, Sound the Alarm for Kids hosted a roundtable discussion with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC).

The virtual roundtable titled “A National Emergency in Youth Mental Health: Strengthening Supports and Access to Care for Hispanic Kids and Teens,” highlighted what steps can be taken to improve trends and ensure Hispanic children and their families have access to culturally competent and developmentally appropriate prevention and treatment services.

Hispanic Mental Health Resources:

• Directory of Organizations with Resources Specific to the Hispanic Community
• Fact Sheet: Mental Health Crisis Among Hispanic Youth
• Salud America: New Action Pack: Start a ‘Handle With Care’ Program So Police Can Notify Schools if Kids Exposed to Trauma! 
• A National Agenda for Children’s Mental Health
• In 2019, 40 percent of Latino High Schoolers Reported Feeling Sad or Hopeless for More than Two Weeks
• Supporting Children and Parents Affected by the Trauma of Separation
• Anti-LGBTQ Policy Proposals Can Harm Youth Mental Health
• Schools Can Reduce Barriers to Mental Health Access by Ensuring That Services Are Supportive of LGBTQ Youth
• State Policymakers Can Support Equitable School-based Telemental Health Services
• The prevalence of adverse childhood experiences, nationally, by state, and by race or ethnicity
• A Toolkit for Child Welfare Agencies to Help Young People Heal and Thrive During and After Natural Disasters
• A Toolkit for Juvenile Justice Agencies to Help Young People Heal and Thrive During and After Natural Disasters

 

Speakers:

• CHC Chair Representative Raul Ruiz (D-CA-36)
• Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)
• Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA)  
• Representative Grace Napolitano (D-CA-32)
• Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15)
• Cliff Despres, Communications Director, Salud America!
• Luis B. Pérez, L.C.S.W., President and CEO, Mental Health Connecticut
• Maria A. Ramos-Olazagasti, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families
• Fred Sandoval, M.P.A., Executive Director, National Latino Behavioral Health Association
• Paul S. Viviano, M.P.H., President and CEO, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (Moderator)