In October of 2021, three pediatric organizations[1] declared a national emergency due to pandemic-related depreciation in children’s mental health.[2] Within two months of nationwide shutdowns, there was a 31% increase in pre-pandemic mental health-related emergency room visits among teens;[3] 51% of these visits were for suicide-related behaviors.[4]

“Nearly every child in the country is suffering to some degree from the psychological effects of the pandemic,” said Sharon Hoover, co-director of the University of Maryland-based National Center for School Mental Health. Unfortunately, the number of mental health professionals in Maryland schools falls below nationally-recommended ratios.[5] Where one psychologist for every 500 students is recommended, Maryland has one for every 1,198 students; where one social worker is recommended for every 250 students, Maryland has only one for every 2,324 students; where a counselor for every 250 students is recommended, Maryland has one for every 362 students.[6] Maryland also fell below national trends for public school re-opening.[7]

While Maryland schools do not have the resources to tackle students’ mental health deficits, non-academic state facilities are struggling as well. Across the state, there are only five units that provide inpatient psychiatric care for children and only seven units that provide inpatient care for adolescents.[8] Each of these units are located within central Maryland, leaving gaps in care for the Eastern Shore and Western and Southern Maryland.[9]

Fortunately, in June of 2021, the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital opened a Children and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit.[10] This unit is the first of its kind within the State, where staff is trained to deliver trauma-informed care to youths in crisis.[11] Despite this progress, the unit only has sixteen beds, which does little to alleviate the State’s occupancy deficits for children’s’ mental health facilities.[12] In fact, due to occupancy demands, some juveniles are housed in detention centers until a psychiatric bed becomes available, which could take weeks.[13]

Mental health experts expect associated learning loss will have long-term consequences.[14] Lower educational attainment is linked to lower lifetime earnings, poor overall health, and higher mortality rates.[15] These consequences are especially true for students with a higher need of school intervention.[16] As the years follow, parents, educators, and mental health experts must remain vigilant as to the complex emotional and educational needs of today’s youth. Additional facilities, institutions, and safeguards must be implemented to ensure the safety of Maryland’s at-risk children.

Meaghan Farnham is a third-year student at the University of Baltimore School of Law and an Associate Editor for Law Forum. Meaghan is from Long Island, New York; she graduated with honors from Loyola University Maryland in 2019 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. While at UB, Meaghan served as a Rule 19 student attorney with the Mental Health Law Clinic and interned with The Women’s Law Center of Maryland and Project HEAL (Health, Education, Advocacy and Law) of the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Upon graduation in May of 2022, Meaghan will serve as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Judge Ballou-Watts in the Circuit Court of Baltimore County. She hopes to pursue a career in education law and children’s advocacy. 

[1] These three national institutions are The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association. See AAP-AACAP-CHA Declaration of a National Emergency in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, American Academy of Pediatrics (Oct. 19, 2021) (access at https://www.aap.org/en/advocacy/child-and-adolescent-healthy-mental-development/aap-aacap-cha-declaration-of-a-national-emergency-in-child-and-adolescent-mental-health/)

[2] Christine Vestal, COVID Harmed Kids’ Mental Health – And Schools Are Feeling It, The PEW Charitable Trusts (Nov. 8, 2021), https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2021/11/08/covid-harmed-kids-mental-health-and-schools-are-feeling-it; See AAP-AACAP-CHA Declaration of a National Emergency in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, American Academy of Pediatrics (Oct. 19, 2021) (This decline was attributed to the unprecedented onset of widespread social isolation and family instability).

[3] Carol Vidal, Jennifer Reesman & Jessica Hasson, Opinion: Maryland School Districts Are Harming Children When They Close Their Doors, The Washington Post (Dec. 24, 2021), https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/12/24/maryland-school-districts-are-harming-children-when-they-close-their-doors/.

[4] Id.

[5] See id.

[6] Id.

[7] See K-12 Pandemic Related Public Schools Disruptions, Burbio (Mar. 12, 2022),

https://cai.burbio.com/school-opening-tracker/.

[8] Capital News Service, MD. Youths Needing Psychiatric Care Find Long Waits, Drives, Maryland Reporter ( Dec. 12, 2019),  https://marylandreporter.com/2019/12/12/md-youths-needing-psychiatric-care-find-long-waits-drives/.

[9] Id.

[10] Stephanie Janard, New Unit Supports Children in Acute Mental Health Crises UMB News (July 19, 2021), https://www.umaryland.edu/news/archived-news/july-2021/new-unit-supports-children-in-acute-mental-health-crises.php.

[11] Id.

[12] Id.

[13] Phil Davis, Lack of Inpatient Beds in Psychiatric Hospitals Putting Children at Risk: Officials Worry that Youths in Need of Care Are Instead Being Housed in Detention Facilities, Baltimore Sun (Nov. 3, 2021), https://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bs-md-cr-juvenile-detention-psychiatric-care-20211103-wcidebu7unhzpaf2fg7ix5hrri-story.html (Jenny Egan, the chief attorney of Public Defender’s Office’s Juvenile Division, said the courts and the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) are violating Maryland law, “which states that if a child is ruled incompetent to stand trial but has a reasonable probability of attaining competency, courts cannot place them in a detention center.”).

[14] Carol Vidal, Jennifer Reesman & Jessica Hasson, Opinion: Maryland School Districts Are Harming Children When They Close Their Doors.

[15] See id.; see also Santiago Pinto & John Bailey Jones, The Long-Term Effects of Educational Disruptions (May 22, 2020), https://www.richmondfed.org/-/media/richmondfedorg/research/economists/bios/pdfs/pinto-jones_covid19_paper.pdf.

[16] Carol Vidal, Jennifer Reesman & Jessica Hasson, supra note 3 (Students in need of intervention consist of students from low-income families, students with disabilities, and bilingual students, all of whom were affected disproportionately during pandemic-based school closures).