New York City Public Schools Forced to Rely on Mutual Aid to Survive Mental Health Crisis.
Yesterday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ absence was noticeable. He had been invited to participate in a roundtable discussion regarding the mental health crisis in public schools. Instead, Commissioner Keith Howard was sent on his behalf. The event entitled “Mental Health is All of Us” was hosted by the non-profit I’RAISE Girls and Boys International Corporation, whose mission is to enhance the emotional well-being of at-risk youth. I’RISE invited community-based organizations, NYC social workers, and several youths to share their concerns with Adams. The hope was to encourage him to prioritize funding for in-school mental health services even after his recent decision to cut the city’s overall education budget by $365 million.
“I don’t believe that cutting our schools’ budgets is going to help students, especially at a time when they really need us to show up for them. Especially when we are trying to figure out how we are going to help them recover and move past the harmful effects of the pandemic,” said Shanequa Moore, the CEO of I’RAISE. Moore also focused her remarks more broadly on how the financial changes proposed by the Mayor were likely to directly impact the mental health of a student population already under strain. “The budget cuts are going to harm schools greatly. Public schools, in particular, are already dealing with inadequate or scarce resources. Most of the schools we work with are those in which at least 90% of the students are considered in poverty or low-income.”
Despite the surprise of Adams’ absence, attendees were determined to move forward with the event and bring attention to the mental health crisis. Representatives from each organization shared statistics on the rise of anxiety, depression, and suicidality in schools across the NYC area. Several high schoolers emotionally related how the financial impact of the pandemic has significantly impacted their mental health.
Social workers spoke passionately about their difficulties with burgeoning caseloads, which exceed their capacity to provide adequate support for students. The 2022 audit from the New York State Comptroller supported their contentions. It revealed that, “at the height of the pandemic, 44 out of 58 city schools sampled (76%) did not meet the recommended social-worker-to-student ratio.” While the suggested ratio is one social worker for every 250 students, the audit noted that in many schools the ratio is actually closer to one social worker for every 1000 students.
Mental health coverage in public schools is the direct responsibility of the Mayor through the Department of Education. However, as the government has failed to provide psychological and psychiatric support for the schools, it has left vulnerable communities and grass-roots organizations with this burden. Linda Rodriguez from the Child Center of New York stated, “I think that community-based organizations have always filled the gap between the state and public schools. And, in many ways, they have been leaders and innovators in trying to figure out how to solve systemic problems.”
After the meeting, Commissioner Howard did not commit to any policy changes or to the provision of additional mental health resources. Instead, his response to the discussion was noncommittal, “You are going to see how your voices changed policy. If you know anything about this Mayor, you know he gets things done,” he concluded.
