Ohio families are experiencing greater mental-health challenges coming out of the pandemic, and social services workers emphasized it makes it more difficult to place kids who need help in appropriate facilities.

According to a report published earlier this year by the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, 89% of counties experienced placements of youths whose needs were primarily behavioral health-related.

Deanna Nichols-Stika, executive director of Wayne County Children's Services, explained caseworkers had options for residential placement and could select the provider who best met the needs of a child a decade ago. Now, she noted, it is now rare to find basic long-term housing and care.

"It is not uncommon for us to make over 40 phone calls to different providers in the state of Ohio, just looking for an available bed," Nichols-Stika pointed out. "Not even having the opportunity to really look at available services matching the needs of the child."

According to an Ohio Council of Behavioral Health and Family Services Providers report, demand for behavioral-health treatment in the state spiked by 353% between 2013 and 2019, likely worsened by the pandemic. Agencies said the increased demand for youth mental-health services, in particular, is having a substantial impact on wait times.

Scott Boone, director of Knox County Job and Family Services, said families are struggling with increasingly complex, interconnecting issues compared to previous generations. As a result, kids are dealing with trauma and resulting behavioral and mental-health issues traditional foster homes and even therapeutic foster care, are not equipped to manage.

"We're finding that a lot of kids are developing these types of behaviors where they're self harming, and they're running away," Boone observed. "They've been exposed to every kind of abuse that you can think of."

Boone cited a recent example of trying to place a teenage girl who had been in a detention facility. He recalled staff worked desperately with the local probation department and contacts throughout the state for nearly three months trying to find placement.

"And we were turned down by over 100 providers until finally we found a location in Cincinnati," Boone recounted. "You can imagine that the cost of that is around $400 a day."

Nichols-Stika added despite the challenges, there is a collaborative spirit among people working to stabilize and care for children coming out of the worst circumstances.

"There is such a passion for this, of people in this profession, child welfare, behavioral health, mental health, to help people," Nichols-Stika explained. "That's why we got into this profession. We just need additional resources to help us do better."

Youth advocates continue to sound the alarm over the impact flavored tobacco products have on teenagers, and hope Minnesota lawmakers take another close look at a proposed statewide ban.

Following attempts in previous legislative sessions, a bill has surfaced to prohibit the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars, smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes.

The coalition Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation said the region faces a youth tobacco epidemic.

Bethlehem Yewhalawork, program manager for NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center, said enacting proposed restrictions can prevent things from getting worse.

"Passing a comprehensive flavor policy will really prevent youth addiction and improve health for all Minnesotans," Yewhalawork contended.

According to the coalition, one in seven 11th graders in Minnesota reports using e-cigarettes, and 88% of those students use flavored products.

Proposed bans often encounter pushback from the tobacco industry and retailers. A similar ban in the city of Edina recently survived a court challenge. Currently, 25% of Minnesotans are covered by a local flavored tobacco policy.

Preethika Naveen, a senior at Eagan High School, said while overall smoking rates have declined, use of flavored tobacco is prevalent among her peers.

"Many kids use menthol chew and vape e-cigarettes. Why? Because of the flavors," Naveen observed.

Advocates also argued the tobacco industry continues to use menthol products to target Black Americans, LGBTQ communities and youth. Groups such as the Children's Defense Fund have noted early exposure to nicotine can have lasting effects on a child's brain development.

Some Indiana elementary students are getting an extra dose of emotional support in the classroom from service dogs.

Trained by the Indiana Canine Assistant Network, the dogs offer a social link to kids who may intentionally isolate themselves.

Jill Schipp, principal at West Clay Elementary School in Carmel, said kids feel an immediate bond with her dog, "Palmer," and want to pet him or read him a story. She explained service dogs are helpful for children who have trouble with fear or uncertainty, or difficulty communicating.

"I've had kids that come down that are experiencing grief or anxiety, or changes in their life, maybe kids that have made a move to a new home, and they're just upset," Schipp observed. "They're carrying big worries. Being with him, and petting him and getting dog kisses, and getting their mind off of it really, really helps."

She pointed out teachers also request visits with the service dogs during trying times, like state scholastic testing. Schipp noted she has received inquiries from other districts about the benefits of having a service dog on school grounds.

Service dogs receive special instruction and certification to address distinct needs. The dog may sense a child with a physical disability is unsteady, and let the child lean on them. Schipp added her dog is keenly aware of nonverbal communication, which is common in children on the autism spectrum.

"If they are upset, I have learned to ask the child what they need," Schipp recounted. "Some kids will say, 'I need him to sit on me.' So, I have a little mat and the child sits down, puts their legs straight out in front of them, and he sits on their lap. And they just talk to him, and he just lays there until they're calm."

Schipp thought the dogs' presence would ease students' transition back to a classroom setting after the pandemic. She began the process with questionnaires to hundreds of parents, and the majority supported the plan. She emphasized care is taken with allergic reactions or fear of dogs.


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Republican-sponsored bills and amendments in the Legislature would eliminate the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth. More than 1.5-million children live in Tennessee. TCCY said it is a critical component of keeping children's issues front and center.

Kylie Graves, policy specialist for the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, said it was never consulted about the legislation, and the text in the amendment would remove any mention of the agency from the state code. She added that dismantling the commission will cause Tennessee to lose the only entity that works to address the well-being of children.

"So very short turnaround there, kind of a mix of trying to wrap our heads around what the amendment does, what it would mean for us to be completely deleted from code, it would mean that we would no longer exist, and all of our programs would have to go elsewhere if they were to continue, " she said.

Graves added the commission is reaching out to legislators who will be voting on the bills, explaining the value the panel brings as an independent consolidated state agency. Two measures are in play in the legislature. House Bill 330 will be presented before the House Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee today and Senate Bill 282 will go before the Senate Health and Welfare Committee tomorrow.

Graves said the commission has partnered with the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Kids Count for more than 30 years and they set up the infrastructure and collect data for reports. She noted the foundation will not partner with another non-independent state agency to do this work because of trust and reliability.

"To us, that's just another clear example of how we were not consulted on this legislation or where programs will move because the Kids Count work, including the State of the Child, the county profiles, our data center, all of that cannot go to another state agency. And so nonprofits will have to pick up that work," she added.

Graves said the commission is the only state agency tasked with looking at issues across the childhood spectrum and making recommendations to improve those systems, and added the 21-person board is made up of members appointed by the governor and can serve up to nine years. At least one member is appointed from each of Tennessee's nine development districts.