The Wyoming Department of Health is looking at how to better connect young people with mental health services. To do that, the department has launched a survey asking young people and their families to share their experiences getting therapy or other mental health care.
"It's hard to improve access to care if we don't know what’s making access difficult," said Megan Selheim, the department's youth and young adult health program manager. "We're hoping the survey results will help us build a roadmap for how to move forward and where to start for the purposes of our work to try to improve access to care."
Wyoming youth face unique and severe barriers to healthcare access in general, and the state has one of the nation's highest suicide rates. At school, young Wyoming residents sometimes face harassment or bullying based on physical appearance, sexual orientation and gender expression. Youth mental health is gaining more attention at the state level, and the department of health's new survey is the latest example.
The survey is aimed at improving services for children and teenagers specifically, and invites them to participate. But the department is not advertising to children themselves. Rather, it's going through their parents. Selheim said this approach might limit what the department learns from teens, but the department wants to respect parental rights.
"We recognize there have been a lot of conversations within the state about to what extent parents should be involved in what their kids are doing," she said.
These conversations were front and center earlier this year amid debates about anti-LGBTQ bills filed in the Wyoming Legislature. A bill called "Parental rights in education" — which was nearly identical to Florida's famed "Don't Say Gay" bill — died in the House. But if it had passed, the bill would have prohibited elementary school teachers from talking about sexual orientation or gender identity.
It also would have required parental permission to give students questionnaires or health screenings. A representative from the Wyoming Education Association told lawmakers this specific provision would make it more difficult to detect abusive behavior in a child’s home. But supporters of the bill also voiced support for this provision too.
Amid this climate and after much thought, Selheim said the department of health decided to work through parents rather than advertise directly to teenagers. The department will, however, advertise directly to young people 18 and older, who are also included in the survey's target demographic.
"We really do want youth to participate to the extent that they can, but we also want to respect that parents may feel strongly, especially on the younger end of the spectrum," Selheim said.
The survey is open now and will close once the department gets enough responses. Selheim said she encourages families to fill out the survey sooner rather than later.
Participants have the option of volunteering for a focus group — a collection of young people or families that the department will follow-up with in October.
The department will soon launch similar surveys for pediatricians and for mental health care workers who serve children.
