Lubbock, Texas (KCBD) – Texas lawmakers have allocated $300 million that, if approved, would fund mental health programs at children’s hospitals across the state, including Covenant Children’s in Lubbock.
Amy Thompson, chief executive of Covenant Children’s, said it was especially needed now because hospitals were seeing a growing number of children with mental health problems.
“We’ve always had this problem with kids and teens, and we’ve always had very little resources for these kinds of things, but they’ve definitely increased during the pandemic,” Thompson said.
Suicide was the second leading cause of death among children ages 10 to 14 last year, according to the Texas Children’s Hospital Association. Mental health facilities and resources don’t come cheap, which is why state funding is crucial, Thompson said.
“Hospitals have struggled to keep these services that are costing so much money, but we know it’s very important,” Thompson said.
If the state approves the funding, one of the first hurdles Covenant Children would address would be providing early prevention programs to try to reduce the number of children experiencing mental health crises, Thompson said.
“You don’t want to wait until a child comes into your facility because they’re suicidal, so it’s so important to try to provide services with your school district and others in your town who are trying to do preventive care as well as early intervention,” Thompson said.
The funding will also help programs already started, such as the Covenant Children’s Outpatient Center for Relational Health. Thompson believes that with the help of the state government, the new center can also provide inpatient care.
“We hope to get the remainder of the funding to move to some inpatient beds, which will be the first of their kind in Lubbock for children and adolescents,” Thompson said.
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