With the end of school shutdowns, children’s mental health appointments fell sharply, though other factors may have contributed.
A study of nearly 200,000 California schoolchildren found that their mental health had improved significantly after schools reopened for in-person learning in 2021, evidence that its authors said shows that the risks of prolonged shutdowns were greater than policymakers understood at the time.
Nine months after schools reopened, the probability that a child would be seen by a provider for a mental health condition was reduced by 43 percent, the authors found. Spending on mental health medications decreased by 7.5 percent, and spending on other treatments, like therapy, decreased by 10.6 percent.
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