Take Action Mental Health in Your State

North Carolina

By The Numbers

1,678,000

Number of K-12 Students (2022 Projection)i

132,000
Children with major depressionii
74,000

Children with major depression who do not receive treatmentiii

1:2,527

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

1:1,584

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

1:354

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

Take Action
in
North Carolina

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 NORTH CAROLINA COMPARES

State Rankings from Mental Health America iv 

2015

2020

2021

2022

Overall State Rank for Youth Mental Health

30

44

45

42

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

61,000 / 8.11%

95,000 / 12.03%

119,000 / 15.05%

132,000 / 16.68%

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

Not Asked

68,000 / 74.3%

77,000 / 60.2%

74,000 / 51.90%

Youth with Major Severe Depressive Episodes in the Past Year

Not Asked

75,000 / 9.8%

98,000 / 12.6%

110,000 / 14.20%

Youth with Severe Major Depressive Episodes
Who Received Some Consistent Treatment

Not Asked

12,000 / 17.0%

21,000 / 21.9%

27,000 / 24.9%

Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance
for an Individualized Education Program

5,911 / 4.36%

5,349 / 3.81%

5,275 / 3.72%

5,187 / 3.65%

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

Not Asked

38,000 / 11.9%

33,000 / 10.0%

34,000 / 10.0%

Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year

46,000 / 6.11%

29,000 / 3.63%

28,000 / 3.57%

31,000 / 3.91%

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.
North Carolina

By The Numbers

1,678,000

Number of K-12 Students (2022 Projection)i

132,000
Children with major depressionii
74,000

Children with major depression who do not receive treatmentiii

1:2,527

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

1:1,584

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

1:354

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

Take Action
in
North Carolina

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 NORTH CAROLINA COMPARES

State Rankings from Mental Health America iv 

2015

2020

2021

2022

Overall State Rank for Youth Mental Health

30

44

45

42

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

61,000 / 8.11%

95,000 / 12.03%

119,000 / 15.05%

132,000 / 16.68%

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

Not Asked

68,000 / 74.3%

77,000 / 60.2%

74,000 / 51.90%

Youth with Major Severe Depressive Episodes in the Past Year

Not Asked

75,000 / 9.8%

98,000 / 12.6%

110,000 / 14.20%

Youth with Severe Major Depressive Episodes
Who Received Some Consistent Treatment

Not Asked

12,000 / 17.0%

21,000 / 21.9%

27,000 / 24.9%

Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance
for an Individualized Education Program

5,911 / 4.36%

5,349 / 3.81%

5,275 / 3.72%

5,187 / 3.65%

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

Not Asked

38,000 / 11.9%

33,000 / 10.0%

34,000 / 10.0%

Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year

46,000 / 6.11%

29,000 / 3.63%

28,000 / 3.57%

31,000 / 3.91%

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: North Carolina has one school psychologist for every 2,527 students (the recommended ratio is 1:500).
  • School Social Workers: North Carolina has one school social worker for every 1,584 students (the recommended ratio is 1:250).
  • School Counselors: North Carolina has one school counselor for every 354 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 and policies encourage, but do not require, districts to adopt plans, policies, or strategies to engage parents and families in the educational process.
  • Community schools: 21st Century Community Learning Centers offer additional opportunities for student, family and community engagement.

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require, rather than encourage, school districts to adopt family engagement plans.
  • Require partnerships between school districts and community mental health providers that ensure access to services for students with ongoing needs.

Teacher and Staff Training:

Substantial progress achieved

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

 

Current Policy:

  • Teacher/staff training: C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 115C-376.5 (2020) requires each K-12 school unit to adopt a school mental health plan that includes training of school personnel in youth mental health, suicide prevention, substance abuse sexual abuse prevention, sex trafficking prevention, and teenage dating violence.

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.

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:
    • C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 115C-407.16 (2014) All public school districts are required to enact a policy against bullying or harassing behavior containing enumerated definitions, policies, consequences, and procedures.
    • C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 115C-407.17 (2009) Schools must develop and implement methods and strategies for promoting school environments that are free of bullying or harassing behavior.
  • Suicide prevention: C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 115C-376.5 (2020)  The State Board of Education is required to adopt a school-based mental health policy that includes suicide prevention for grades K-12 and a model suicide risk referral protocol for grades 6-12.

 

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 (CASEL).  

 

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

Substantial progress achieved

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

 

Current Policy: