Senate Finance Committee officials said the panel would conduct a hearing this month regarding youth mental health, with Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy expected to provide testimony.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID) detailed how the Jan. 26 hearing would focus on domestic children and teen-centric mental health care shortfalls and indicated Murthy’s participation in the wake of his office previously releasing a report on youth mental health.
“Children in America are facing unprecedented challenges to their mental health – from technology to a rapidly changing world including a global pandemic,” Wyden said. “I am pleased that the Surgeon General has accepted our invitation to come before the committee, share his findings, and work with members on a bipartisan basis towards solutions that will help youth in America access good quality mental health care.”
Murthy noted in his December advisory mental health challenges in children, adolescents, and young adults are real and widespread.
“Even before the pandemic, an alarming number of young people struggled with feelings of helplessness, depression, and thoughts of suicide — and rates have increased over the past decade,” Murthy wrote. “The COVID-19 pandemic further altered their experiences at home, school, and in the community, and the effect on their mental health has been devastating. The future well-being of our country depends on how we support and invest in the next generation. Especially in this moment, as we work to protect the health of Americans in the face of a new variant, we also need to focus on how we can emerge stronger on the other side.”
According to a report recently released by Murthy, one in five children, ages 3 to 17, have a mental, emotional, development, or behavioral disorder in America.