Demonstrators in Massachusetts urge more state funding for mental health services .WASHINGTON, D. C. -- An increased demand for child welfare services during the coronavirus pandemic has caused burnout, traumatic stress issues and significant staff shortages for frontline workers at agencies that help protect children from abuse and neglect, the head of an Ohio association for the state’s public children services agencies told the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.
She urged Congress to make federal money available for mental health support for child welfare services staffers, as it has done for health care workers, and to increase federal investments in the future human services workforce and a stronger system of care for children. On top of a shortage of mental health service providers, Legal Action Center attorney Deborah Steinberg said Medicare -- which the Ways and Means Committee oversees -- doesn’t provide adequate coverage for mental health issues, including substance abuse disorders, resulting in inadequate or no treatment until conditions become severe enough to require expensive and preventable hospitalizations.
The chairman of the committee, Richard Neal of Massachusetts, said the federal government needs to help build up the capacity of mental health providers to address the diverse needs of the nation’s patients.