California and the child mental health crisis

From: POLITICO California Playbook - Friday Aug 19,2022 01:17 pm

Aug 19, 2022

By Lara Korte, Jeremy B. White and Sakura Cannestra

Presented by Southern California Edison

THE BUZZ: POST-PANDEMIC STRESS — Millions of kids returned to classrooms this week, and the data shows they’re struggling more than ever.

Like many young people across the country, children in California are grappling with depression, anxiety and even rising rates of suicide in the wake of the pandemic. In the Golden State, suicide for kids ages 10 to 18 jumped by 20 percent from 2019 to 2020, and in the past year, one in 10 kids between the ages of 12 and 17 suffered from at least one major depressive episode, per the governor’s office.

That somber reality was the backdrop for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s visit to McLane High School in Fresno on Thursday, where he and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom hit on the state’s efforts to address rising rates of mental health problems among young people — which had already been growing for years prior to the pandemic.

The governor touted the $4.7 billion the state has invested over the past three years to launch what he termed the “historic overhaul” of the mental health system. The funding aims to create more interventions for kids and easier access to services. Perhaps most notably, the state is looking to add 40,000 new mental health workers and 10,000 school counselors to the workforce to meet kids where they’re at.

Newsom: “I need to make this point: The world that we're living in today didn't happen overnight. It’s over the course of decades and decades of neglect that we ended up here.”

Unsurprisingly, some California parents would beg to differ. The negative effects of not just the pandemic, but school closures specifically, on kids’ mental health has been one of the thorniest political issues of the governor’s tenure. Frustrations over remote learning were certainly a motivating factor in last year’s unsuccessful recall attempt, and still come up in the occasional political volley between Newsom and red-state leaders like Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Newsom, of course, would point out California had a lower per-capita death rate than Florida during the pandemic, but we’ll leave the rest of the sparring to them.)

Let’s also not forget it was that same anger from parents that helped oust three San Francisco school board members in February. The vitriol that fermented during the pandemic is still bubbling across the state today. As CalMatters’ Joe Hong pointed out yesterday, pandemic school closures are one of the several factors driving parents to run for local school boards.

CA Parent Power founder Megan Bacigalupi on Newsom’s mental health plan: “School closures didn't cause our student mental health crisis but it was like lighter fluid on a fire. To have zero acknowledgement today about how much harm that caused many CA students is denial.”

‘SUB-ZERO INTEREST’ : Newsom, of course, couldn’t make a public appearance without taking a couple shots at red states — three of them, in fact. He criticized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for cutting $211 million from the state’s mental health budget a month before the Uvalde shooting. He went after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey for allocating federal stimulus dollars to new state prisons. And Florida got a shout out for banning books that include “social emotional learning” concepts.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Friday morning. It’s time to start saying goodbye to the legislators who are leaving Sacramento this year. Lawmakers yesterday honored 19 members of the Assembly and 10 senators who are set to retire. Get ready for a shakeup next session when the Capitol welcomes a big batch of fresh faces in their place.

Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up: jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte.

A message from Southern California Edison:

Southern California Edison is taking steps every day to protect the safety of our customers and communities. By installing covered power lines, upgrading our electric infrastructure, investing in new technologies and strengthening our partnerships with fire agencies, we can prevent wildfires before they happen, better predict when they may occur and respond quickly if one starts. Protecting 32 million acres in Southern California and the people that live here is a job we take seriously.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "What we announced on Tuesday, that recommendation, was that the Department of the Interior will take actions with or without a voluntary agreement. Will we continue to be engaged with the basin states because we believe that the solution is one of consensus." U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton in Irvine on Thursday speaking about continued negotiations over how to cut states’ use of the Colorado River.

TWEET OF THE DAY: @CaucusRedux recounting scheduling woes: “Overheard this morning:

#CALeg staffer’s spouse on speaker phone: “Don’t you have to go? It’s 9 a.m.”

Staffer: “No, it’s the Assembly and it’s end of session. They say 9 but really mean 9:30. Then they wonder why they are still here on the last day of session at 1 a.m.””

WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

TOP TALKERS

— “California’s fast food bill could link chains to wage theft and other workplace violations,” by CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang: “Proponents say AB 257 could curb wage theft, but restaurateurs say it could raise costs and prices and fundamentally change relationships with fast food chains.”

— “Newsom slams Oakland over handling of Wood Street homeless encampment,” by KTVU: “The state claims that Oakland is shirking its responsibility of providing shelter and housing assistance to unhoused residents at the Wood Street encampment, where a string of fires have erupted.”

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

RETURN TO THE EARTH — “It was once the nation’s largest trash heap. Now it’ll be an inspirational L.A. County park,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Andrew J. Campa: “Much of the natural space surrounding the trail for decades was part of the nation’s largest trash heap — the Puente Hills Landfill, which held one-third of Los Angeles County’s garbage. Now it is set to become the first regional park the county has created in 30 years.”

— “California becomes the first state to break down Black employee data by lineage ,” by NPR’s Jaclyn Diaz: “Employees will not be required to disclose this demographic information, but advocates who have been pushing for this expansion of data collection say it is for the Black community's benefit, according to the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California.”

TOUCHDOWN? — UCLA and USC departures could cost Pac-12 $200 million-plus, by POLITICO’s Blake Jones: Notably, USC's sports program brings in three times as much revenue from media deals for the Pac-12 as UCLA’s does, and USC accounts for 30 percent of total Pac-12 media revenue.

— “ Gavin Newsom said he would give land back to Native Americans in California. Has he?” by the Sacramento Bee’s Ari Plachta: “Approximately 12,635 total acres of land in California have been returned to Native American tribes with state involvement, the majority coming within the last five years. Since Newsom announced this policy, the pace slowed to some 1,500 acres, according to publicly available data gathered from state and tribal government sources.”

HIGH TIDE — “California is at risk of a mega-flood. Are Central Valley communities prepared for it?” by the Sacramento Bee’s Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler: “But a growing number of scientists say climate change — the same catastrophe that’s drying up the West — is also increasing the risk of nightmarish flooding across much of the state.”

— “Secret Service waited to tell Capitol Police of Pelosi threat until the Jan. 6 riot was underway,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sophia Bollag: “Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, confirmed that the email was authentic. He noted that Pelosi, D-San Francisco, is not a protectee of the Secret Service, which oversees security for the president.”

A message from Southern California Edison:

BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL

— LGBTQ advocates say the government is missing communities of color in its monkeypox response, by POLITICO’s Megan Messerly and Krista Mahr: “Despite these warning signs, LGBTQ health advocates and public health experts said government messaging is failing to reach the communities that need it most, and fear federal and state health officials are repeating the mistakes of not only the coronavirus pandemic but also the HIV epidemic, which still disproportionately affects people of color.”

SILICON VALLEYLAND

— Alphabet workers push for stronger privacy protections post-Dobbs, by POLITICO’s Alfred Ng: “The petition, which the Alphabet Workers Union sent to Google executives on Monday and made public Thursday — demands that the company add data privacy controls for health-related searches, which could include searches for abortion access, and review its privacy practices company-wide.”

DISTRIBUTABLE DATA — “FTC sued by firm allegedly selling sensitive data on abortion clinic visits ,” by Ars Technica’s Ashley Belanger: “Kochava’s complaint revealed for the first time how the FTC might act to protect consumer data from being used to support abortion prosecutions in post-Roe America.”

INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.

MIXTAPE

UP AND DOWN THE STATE — “What to do, see and eat in California’s nine best college towns,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Christopher Reynolds.

— “The Colorado River drought is so bad you can see it from space,” by Vox’s Umair Irfan.

CAN WE FIX IT? — “ California Needs More Housing. Unions Might Stand in the Way.” opines the New York Times’ Farhad Manjoo.

— “ He turned his weed-filled yard into a low-water jungle of fruit trees,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Jeanette Marantos.

BIRTHDAYS

Eva Guidarini … Adam Conner of the Center for American Progress … Julius Genachowski of the Carlyle Group

WELCOME TO THE WORLD

POLITICO reporter Susannah Luthi and her husband Garrett welcomed a baby boy, Wyatt, this week.

A message from Southern California Edison:

Evolving climate conditions throughout California have made wildfires a year-round concern to many communities. With safety as our number one priority, we are working to protect our customers and communities. Our engineers, field crews and fire science experts are developing and implementing industry-leading technologies and operational practices to reduce the risk of electrical equipment igniting wildfires. We’ve invested $1.3 billion in 2020 and are on track to spend an additional $3.5 billion in 2021-2022 to continue to prevent wildfires and act quickly when they occur. This includes installing covered power lines, strengthening situational awareness capabilities, and expanding operational practices like enhanced overhead inspections and vegetation management. We’re also improving fire agencies’ ability to detect and respond to emerging fires using satellite imagery and providing aerial fire suppression resources.

CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this -only service offers, click here.

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