Mental Health
In crisis and on hold: How the 988 hotline revamped callers' experience
To avoid people in need hanging up in frustration, the crisis and suicide hotline has changed the voice and the music that callers hear as they wait to be connected to counselors.
988 currently doesn't use geolocation services. Counties want to change that.
Counties are pushing for Congress to pass legislation that will require calls be routed based on location. Wireless carriers are already working with the federal government to start doing that.
If schools won’t ban kids’ cellphones, some lawmakers say, they will
Florida now bans cellphones during class, and lawmakers elsewhere like the idea.
With AI, anyone can be a victim of nonconsensual porn. Can laws keep up?
States around the country are scrambling to respond to the dramatic rise in deepfakes, a result of little regulation and easy-to-use apps.
One state looks to collect multiyear data to address the mental health crisis
Ohio has launched a $20 million research project to study the social and biological factors influencing mental health. Researchers hope the study will continue for two decades and deliver actionable insights for policymakers nationwide.
Policies to expand access to psychedelics could be ‘short-sighted’
While research shows psychedelics’ potential to mitigate the effects of substance use disorders, observers warn states might be better off waiting for federal guidance before legalizing their use and possession.
Cities know that the way police respond to mental crisis calls must change. But how?
Cities are experimenting with new ways to meet the rapidly increasing demand for behavioral health crisis intervention, at a time when incidents of police shooting and killing people in mental health crisis have become painfully familiar.
One state takes on youth mental health by streamlining access to services
For some families, it can take more than a decade to connect children to appropriate mental health resources once they show symptoms. Amid a growing youth mental health crisis, one state is developing an online portal to shave that wait time down.
988-hotline counselors air concerns: more training needed to juggle a mix of calls
Dozens of crisis counselors responded to a survey about their work experiences, painting a picture of uneven training, uncertainty about how long to stay on the line, and different policies on whether to inform a caller when police are on their way.
LA County invests big in free virtual mental health therapy for K-12 students
The teletherapy effort is aimed at helping overburdened schools cope with a surge in demand for mental health services.
The latest youth climate lawsuit tries a novel argument: The unique environmental vulnerability of children
Eighteen California children say the EPA fails to recognize the unique physical and mental impacts climate change has on kids.
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