Mental Health For Colorado's Youth Takes Spotlight With New Position Paving The Way For Change

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- Suicide is still the number one cause of death beginning at age 10 in Colorado, but there has been a notable change when it comes to the state's efforts to invest in resources for kids. Children's Hospital Colorado is paving the way for change in the world of health care- it recently hired its first-ever Mental Health-in-Chief, Dr. K. Ron-Li Liaw.

"Many children's hospitals, you'll see have a psychiatrist in chief who reports to the chief medical officer at the hospital, and it leads the division of child psychiatry. I think the mental health in chief might be one of the first in its kind in the country, really sitting at the highest levels of leadership of the Children's hospital executive team as well as in the department of psychiatry and the school of medicine, providing sort of guidance around mental health policy, strategy, organizational design, workforce development and quality of care- creating an integrated system of care within children's health care for mental health needs," said Dr. K. Ron-Li Liaw.

Dr. Liaw is a child psychiatrist and as the new mental health in chief, has been working with not only the Children's Hospital leadership team, but local, state and federal leaders to find ways to make early intervention and prevention a priority for Colorado's kids.

"Thinking about, how do we reimagine and redesign mental healthcare as part of children's healthcare so in everything that we do as a children's hospital, thinking about, how do we take care of the needs of kids who have depression, anxiety, kids who are dealing with suicidal thoughts, really struggling with isolation and trouble in school and friendships," she said.

Liaw said previous data for the state showed it ranked near the bottom 10 when it came to investing in youth mental health care, but new data shows that's no longer the case.

"Those things are changing I think with the new behavioral health administration and a lot of the legislation that's come through state and local levels as well as investments, I'm hoping there's a much brighter future for where we stand in those rankings," she said.

Children's Hospital Colorado declared a pediatric emergency for mental health needs in May which was echoed across the nation and in December the Surgeon General released a report backing the crisis declaration. The Surgeon General issued an advisory, outlining a series of recommendations to improve youth mental health across eleven sectors, including young people and their families, educators and schools, and media and technology companies.

Topline recommendations include:

• Recognize that mental health is an essential part of overall health.
• Empower youth and their families to recognize, manage, and learn from difficult emotions.
• Ensure that every child has access to high-quality, affordable, and culturally competent mental health care.
• Support the mental health of children and youth in educational, community, and childcare settings. And expand and support the early childhood and education workforce.
• Address the economic and social barriers that contribute to poor mental health for young people, families, and caregivers.
• Increase timely data collection and research to identify and respond to youth mental health needs more rapidly. This includes more research on the relationship between technology and youth mental health, and technology companies should be more transparent with data and algorithmic processes to enable this research.
  Liaw says the pandemic has helped bring the mental health conversation to the table but emphasized there is still a lot of work to be done.

"I do think it's part of our conversation now at every kitchen table and I'm grateful for that and I think we need to capitalize on that moment to help create a system that works for kids."

Liaw is moderating a virtual town hall at 6 p.m. Wednesday and will be joined by two child psychologists from the Children's Hospital Colorado team, a manager of clinical social work and Children's Hospital Colorado's VP of Population Health and Advocacy.

Topics of discussion include:

• Coping mechanisms and tools for stressful situations
• Tactics for building resiliency
• De-escalation techniques
• How to know if your child is suffering or in crisis and how to get help
• The difference between healthy and unhealthy social media habits
• How to get involved in advancing youth mental health support across our state

There will be opportunities for the public to weigh in and ask their own questions following the meeting.

"It should be a really lively informative conversation; we're taking questions from you and it's open to everybody, so we welcome everybody to join us," said Liaw.

Families can register for the virtual town hall here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/254758348077