Take Action Mental Health in Your State

Nevada

By The Numbers

539,000

Number of K-12 Students (2022 Projection)i

42,000
Children with major depressionii
28,000

Children with major depression who do not receive treatmentiii

1:1,866

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

1:8,730

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

1:544

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

Take Action
in Nevada

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

School Mental Health Professionals

Some progress achieved

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

Current Policy Achieved:

• School Psychologists: Illinois has one school psychologist for every 1,261 students (the recommended ratio is 1:500).
• School Social Workers: Illinois has one school social worker for every 741 students (the recommended ratio is 1:250).
• School Counselors: Illinois has one school counselor for every 626 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 behavioral health.

HOW NEVADA COMPARES

State Rankings from Mental Health America iv

2015

2020

2021

2022

Overall State Rank for Youth Mental Health

51

51

51

51

Youth with At Least One Major Depressive Episode in the Past Year

19,000 / 8.48%

34,000 / 14.97%

35,000 / 15.11%

42,000 / 17.93%

Youth with Major Depressive Episodes in the
Past Year Who Did Not Receive Treatment

Not Asked

22,000 / 61.4%

23,000 / 71%

28,000 / 65.20%

Youth with Major Severe Depressive Episodes in the Past Year

Not Asked

28,000 / 13.2%

26,000 / 11.8%

29,000 / 13.20%

Youth with Severe Major Depressive Episodes
Who Received Some Consistent Treatment

Not Asked

5,000 / 18.70%

3,000 / 11.2%

5,000 / 18.70%

Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance
for an Individualized Education Program

1,881 / 4.86%

1,931 / 4.45%

1,959 / 4.42%

2,085 / 4.64%

Youth with Private Insurance That Did Not
Cover Mental or Emotional Problems

16,086 / 52%

8,000 / 7.10%

13,000 / 12.6%

8,000 / 7.10%

Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year

15,000 / 6.85%

12,000 / 5.20%

12,000 / 5.09%

13,000 / 5.59%

 

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.
Nevada

By The Numbers

539,000

Number of K-12 Students (2022 Projection)i

42,000
Children with major depressionii
28,000

Children with major depression who do not receive treatmentiii

1:1,866

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

1:8,730

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

1:544

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

Take Action
in Nevada

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

School Mental Health Professionals

Some progress achieved

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

Current Policy Achieved:

• School Psychologists: Illinois has one school psychologist for every 1,261 students (the recommended ratio is 1:500).
• School Social Workers: Illinois has one school social worker for every 741 students (the recommended ratio is 1:250).
• School Counselors: Illinois has one school counselor for every 626 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 behavioral health.

HOW NEVADA COMPARES

State Rankings from Mental Health America iv

2015

2020

2021

2022

Overall State Rank for Youth Mental Health

51

51

51

51

Youth with At Least One Major Depressive Episode in the Past Year

19,000 / 8.48%

34,000 / 14.97%

35,000 / 15.11%

42,000 / 17.93%

Youth with Major Depressive Episodes in the
Past Year Who Did Not Receive Treatment

Not Asked

22,000 / 61.4%

23,000 / 71%

28,000 / 65.20%

Youth with Major Severe Depressive Episodes in the Past Year

Not Asked

28,000 / 13.2%

26,000 / 11.8%

29,000 / 13.20%

Youth with Severe Major Depressive Episodes
Who Received Some Consistent Treatment

Not Asked

5,000 / 18.70%

3,000 / 11.2%

5,000 / 18.70%

Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance
for an Individualized Education Program

1,881 / 4.86%

1,931 / 4.45%

1,959 / 4.42%

2,085 / 4.64%

Youth with Private Insurance That Did Not
Cover Mental or Emotional Problems

16,086 / 52%

8,000 / 7.10%

13,000 / 12.6%

8,000 / 7.10%

Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year

15,000 / 6.85%

12,000 / 5.20%

12,000 / 5.09%

13,000 / 5.59%

 

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: Nevada has one school psychologist for every 1,866 students (the recommended ratio is 1:500).
  • School Social Workers: Nevada has one school social worker for every 8,730 students (the recommended ratio is 1:250).
  • School Counselors: Nevada has one school counselor for every 544 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: State statutes require districts to adopt plans, policies, or strategies to engage parents and families in the educational process.

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require partnerships between school districts and community mental health providers that ensure access to services for students with ongoing needs.

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: NRS 388.256 (2019), 2565 (2019) requires that instruction be provided to teachers and school resource officers on the prevention of suicide.

 

Policy Opportunity:

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

Funding Supports

Substantial progress achieved

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

Current Policy:

  • Medicaid coverage: State Medicaid program covers school-based mental health services for all Medicaid-eligible students.
  • Medicaid telehealth: State Medicaid program covers school-based mental health services delivered via telehealth for all EPSDT services, which include mental health.

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

Meaningful 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:
    • NRS 388.133 Requires the Department of Education to prescribe a policy for all school districts and schools to provide a safe and respectful learning environment that is free of bullying and cyber-bullying, including requirements for reporting and restorative disciplinary practices.
    • NRS 388.1343 (2011) Each school is required to establish a school safety team to develop, foster, and maintain a school environment that is free from bullying and cyber-bullying. The school safety teams are also tasked with investigating incidents of bullying and cyber-bullying.
    • NRS 236.073 (2011), NRS 388.1395 (2013) Nevada has adopted a “Week of Respect” to bring attention to issues regarding bullying and cyber-bullying.
  • Inclusive environment: NRS 388.133 The Department of Education is required to establish a policy that sets requirements and methods for addressing the rights and needs of persons with diverse gender identities and expressions and for restorative disciplinary practices.
  • Mental health excused absences: SB 249 (2021) allows for excused absences for mental health reasons.
  • Suicide prevention:
    • NRS 389.021 (1999), NRS 388.256 (2019) Nevada law requires that instruction be provided to students on the prevention of suicide, including the identification of appropriate and available mental health services.
    • SB 249 (2021) requires the inclusion of information for a national or local suicide prevention hotline and mental health resources on school-issued student identification cards, including text messaging option on college or community college identification cards.

Policy Opportunity:

  • Enact legislation to address additional healthy school climate policies, such as requiring annual school climate surveys 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

Meaningful progress achieved

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

 

Current Policy:

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Establish existing education standards for K-12 life skills competencies in statute.

Mental Health Education

Substantial progress achieved

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

  

Current Policy:

  • Mental health education: Nevada statutes and regulations require health education from K-12 to include topics in mental and emotional health. (NASBE)