Illinois colleges get funding boost to upgrade mental health services

Illinois colleges and universities are finally getting additional funding to improve mental health services for more students in need.

What’s happening: State lawmakers last month approved $9 million in funds for the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act, which was passed in 2019 without funding to implement it.

• It requires colleges to improve mental health training, screening, treatment and other support tools on campus. Allocations were based on each school’s self-assessed need.

Why it matters: More than 60% of U.S. college students meet the criteria for at least one mental health problem, per a 2021 survey.

Between the lines: No one is certain about what’s driving the increased need among students, but Jen McGowan-Tomke, of mental health advocacy group NAMI, tells Axios it could be a few things:

• “Many attend college around the time mental health issues begin. … It’s also when young people are managing stress and anxiety, which can be compounded by the transition to college and potentially being away from home.”
• Penn State researchers found that COVID “has only exacerbated a student mental health crisis that existed before the pandemic.” Roughly a third of students suggested their reason for seeking mental health services were related to the pandemic, per a 2022 study.

What they’re saying: The money recently allocated to Illinois colleges could be used to “develop an online screening tool” or “increase on-campus clinical staff to shorten or eliminate long wait times to see a provider,” said Lily Rocha of the Young Invincibles, a youth advocacy nonprofit that lobbied for the bill.

What’s next: Rocha told Axios mental health advocates will seek renewed funding each year.

• “It’s not fair to students to begin improving the services and then stop,” she said. “This is a great start, but the funding must be continuous for students to see the impact.”