Take Action Mental Health in Your State

Alabama

By The Numbers

719,000

Number of K-12 Students (2022 Projection)i

54,000
Children with major depressionii
34,000

Children with major depression who do not receive treatmentiii

No data

Ratio of School Psychologists to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:500)

1:8,615

Ratio of School Social Workers to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

1:418

Ratio of School Counselors to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

Take Action
in Alabama

There is a national emergency in children’s mental health. Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. 

Take Action

Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. Mental health challenges can affect success at school and in life, yet few students get the help they need to thrive.

The Hopeful Futures Campaign, a coalition of national organizations, is committed to ensuring that every student has access to effective and supportive school mental health care. The campaign’s school mental health report cards highlight accomplishments and provide important action steps to help address the children’s mental health crisis in every state.

At A Glance: State School Mental Health Policies

School Mental Health Professionals:

School-Family-Community Partnerships:

Teacher and Staff Training:

Funding
Supports:

Well-Being Checks:

Healthy School Climate:

Skills for Life Success:

Mental Health Education:

Little or no progress achieved

Some progress achieved

Meaningful progress achieved

Substantial progress achieved

HOW ALABAMA COMPARES State Rankings from Mental Health America iv   2015 2020 2021 2022
Overall State Rank for Youth Mental Health 28 20 24 20
Youth with At Least One Major Depressive Episode in the Past Year 33,000 / 8.69% 45,000 / 11.90% 49,000/ 13.13% 54,000 / 14.51%
Youth with Major Depressive Episodes in the Past Year Who Did Not Receive Treatment Not Asked 26,000 / 67.5% 31,000 / 69.7% 34,000 / 66.8%
Youth with Major Severe Depressive Episodes in the Past Year Not Asked 29,000 / 8.1% 23,000 / 6.4% 27,000 / 7.50%
Youth with Severe Major Depressive Episodes Who Received Some Consistent Treatment Not Asked 8,000 / 31.30% 6,000 / 25.9% 8,000/31.30%
Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance for an Individualized Education Program Not Asked 7,000 / 5.9% 1,406 / 2.09% 1,420 / 2.13%
Youth with Private Insurance That Did Not Cover Mental or Emotional Problems 1,322 / 1.95% 1,365 / 2.02% 7,000 / 5.9% 16,000 / 12.50%
Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year 22,000 / 5.60% 15,000 / 3.96% 14,000 / 3.63% 12,000 / 3.19%
i. Projections of education statistics to 2022. National Center of Education Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014051.pdf.
ii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iv. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
Alabama

By The Numbers

719,000

Number of K-12 Students (2022 Projection)i

54,000
Children with major depressionii
34,000

Children with major depression who do not receive treatmentiii

No data

Ratio of School Psychologists to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:500)

1:8,615

Ratio of School Social Workers to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

1:418

Ratio of School Counselors to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

Take Action
in Alabama

There is a national emergency in children’s mental health. Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. 

Take Action

Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. Mental health challenges can affect success at school and in life, yet few students get the help they need to thrive.

The Hopeful Futures Campaign, a coalition of national organizations, is committed to ensuring that every student has access to effective and supportive school mental health care. The campaign’s school mental health report cards highlight accomplishments and provide important action steps to help address the children’s mental health crisis in every state.

At A Glance: State School Mental Health Policies

School Mental Health Professionals:

School-Family-Community Partnerships:

Teacher and Staff Training:

Funding
Supports:

Well-Being Checks:

Healthy School Climate:

Skills for Life Success:

Mental Health Education:

Little or no progress achieved

Some progress achieved

Meaningful progress achieved

Substantial progress achieved

HOW ALABAMA COMPARES State Rankings from Mental Health America iv   2015 2020 2021 2022
Overall State Rank for Youth Mental Health 28 20 24 20
Youth with At Least One Major Depressive Episode in the Past Year 33,000 / 8.69% 45,000 / 11.90% 49,000/ 13.13% 54,000 / 14.51%
Youth with Major Depressive Episodes in the Past Year Who Did Not Receive Treatment Not Asked 26,000 / 67.5% 31,000 / 69.7% 34,000 / 66.8%
Youth with Major Severe Depressive Episodes in the Past Year Not Asked 29,000 / 8.1% 23,000 / 6.4% 27,000 / 7.50%
Youth with Severe Major Depressive Episodes Who Received Some Consistent Treatment Not Asked 8,000 / 31.30% 6,000 / 25.9% 8,000/31.30%
Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance for an Individualized Education Program Not Asked 7,000 / 5.9% 1,406 / 2.09% 1,420 / 2.13%
Youth with Private Insurance That Did Not Cover Mental or Emotional Problems 1,322 / 1.95% 1,365 / 2.02% 7,000 / 5.9% 16,000 / 12.50%
Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year 22,000 / 5.60% 15,000 / 3.96% 14,000 / 3.63% 12,000 / 3.19%
i. Projections of education statistics to 2022. National Center of Education Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014051.pdf.
ii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iv. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.

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School Mental Health Professionals

Little or no progress achieved

School psychologists, social workers, and counselors who, together, provide a range of necessary mental health services in schools.

 

Current Policy:

  • School Psychologists: No data is available for the ratio of school psychologists to students in Alabama (the recommended ratio is 1:500).
  • School Social Workers: Alabama has one school social worker for every 8,615 students (the recommended ratio is 1:250).
  • School Counselors: Alabama has one school counselor for every 418 students (the recommended ratio is 1:250).

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Invest in significantly improving the ratios of school psychologists, school social workers, and counselors in K-12, including through telehealth partnerships and workforce programs that incentivize careers in mental health.

School-Family-Community Partnerships

Meaningful progress achieved

Policies that support and enable schools to engage with families and community partners.  

 

Current Policy:

  • Family/community engagement: Alabama Code 16-6B-3 (2012) encourages parental involvement of at-risk children, and encourages, but does not require, family involvement with schools and communities.
  • Mental health partnership: The Alabama School-Based Mental Health Collaboration aims to achieve greater integration between community-based mental health centers and public schools and ensure that students have access to evidence-based mental health services through the community.

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require, rather than encourage, school districts to adopt family engagement plans.

Teacher and Staff Training:

Some progress achieved

Policies that support training of teachers and staff in mental health, substance use, and suicide prevention.

 

Current Policy:

  • Teacher/staff training: Alabama Code 16-28B-8 (2021) Provide annual training for all school employees in suicide awareness and prevention, subject to available funding.

Policy Opportunity:

  • Expand on existing training requirements to ensure K-12 teachers and staff receive regular training on mental health and substance use conditions, including available school and community-based services and resources.

Funding Supports

Little to no progress achieved

Policies that help support funding of school mental health services for Medicaid-eligible students.  

 

Current Policy:

  • Medicaid coverage: State Medicaid program does not cover school-based mental health services for all Medicaid-eligible students.
  • Medicaid telehealth: State Medicaid program only covers school-based mental health services delivered via telehealth for students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Expand Medicaid billing to include school-based mental health services, including via telehealth, for all Medicaid eligible students (beyond students with an IEP).
  • Ensure the state Medicaid program covers services delivered by school psychologists, social workers, and school counselors. 

Well-Being Checks

Little or no progress achieved

Regular checks of mental wellness that help identify students and staff who may need support.  

 

Current Policy:

  • No well-being checks required.

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require annual well-being checks for all students and staff in K-12.

Healthy School Climate

Some progress achieved

Policies that foster safe, supportive schools, including anti-bullying policies, school climate surveys, inclusive environment (anti-discrimination) policies, excused absences for mental health, alternatives to exclusionary discipline, and suicide prevention programs.

 

Current Policy:

  • Anti-bullying: The Jamari Terrell Williams Act (2018) expands Alabama’s definition of bullying to include harassment of a student by another student, intimidation, violence, and threats of violence off of school property, and cyberbullying.
  • Suicide prevention:
    • Alabama Code 16-28B-8 (2018) requires schools to educate students on suicide warning signs and prevention and inform students of community suicide prevention resources. 
    • Alabama Code 16-28B-8 (2016) requires that the Department of Education form an advisory committee consisting of representatives from various mental health organizations and school leaders to help coordinate statewide strategies and standards for suicide prevention in schools.

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Enact legislation to address additional healthy school climate policies, such as requiring annual school climate surveys, promoting an inclusive environment through anti-discrimination policies, permitting excused absences for mental health concerns, and requiring adoption of alternatives to exclusionary discipline that keep youth in school, with services and supports to get their lives on track.

Skills for Life Success

Little or no progress achieved

Skills, such as responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and self-management, that help students succeed in school and life.  

 

Current Policy:

  • No recommended life skills competencies in K-12

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require adoption of evidence-based life skills education for K-12, including making training in the curriculum available to parents and caregivers. 

Mental Health Education

Some progress achieved

Health education in K-12 that includes instruction on mental health.  

 

Current Policy:

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require K-12 health education to explicitly include education on mental health, similar to legislation passed by New York and Virginia.