County Leaders Want to Make Youth Mental Health State Budget Priority
(Reading, PA) -- A coalition of Berks County leaders and teachers is calling for increased state funding for student mental health. The push comes after the Berks County Intermediate Unit met with county educators, the district attorney and mental experts to find ways to discuss school safety and emergency preparedness. They say the fast growth of mental health needs after COVID can be seen as a second pandemic. According to data from a state crime and delinquency survey, more than 40 percent of students in Berks County said they had felt depressed or sad. The survey covered more than 12-thousand students in grades six, eight, ten and 12.