People are struggling—whether it’s because of the isolation and fear brought on by COVID, economic un- certainty and inequality, family dys- function, social divides and pressures, or any number of other reasons. Unfortunately, mental health care is not abundant in this country. The Commonwealth Fund reports that the United States has the world’s highest suicide rate and the sec- ond-highest drug-related death rate— yet, we have “a relatively low supply of mental health workers, particularly psychologists and psychiatrists. Just one-third of U.S. primary care prac- tices have mental health professionals on their team.” Although the Cooperative Extension System (CES) does not license pro- fessionals to treat mental illness (with therapy or medicine), it does help fill this care gap with educational resources and programming. Two of the 2023–2024 New Technologies in
Ag Extension (NTAE) grant recipi- ents are using their funding to further develop materials that can improve mental health in our communities. (See “Mental Health Matters” page 25, for past NTAE grantees whose projects have addressed similar needs.) These projects, from Penn State Uni- versity (PSU) Extension and Univer- sity of Minnesota (UMN) Extension, have different ultimate beneficiaries. PSU aims to support the emotional and mental well-being of children in kinship care (care by a family mem- ber other than a parent) and the care- givers themselves (see page 26), while UMN wants to reach participants in adult community support programs (see page 27). But the materials both teams have created are primarily for the practitioners who interact directly with those audiences.
Educational programs support mental health & kinship care group facilitators
Extension educators are not mental health professionals, but they may find themselves in a position where someone they’re working with asks directly or indirectly for mental health assistance. The educators and faculty on these projects talk about why Extension settings are conducive to these kinds of interactions, how Extension professionals can respond, and how the system can be even better equipped for this work.
Taking care of our
CARE GIVERS A nxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders were already a major global concern before COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization. Within the first year of the pandemic, their levels increased significantly. Adults in the United States alone have one of the highest rates of mental health diagnoses among 11 high-income countries, notes the The Commonwealth Fund. And in 2022, nearly 50 million people aged 12 or older (17% of the U.S. population) reported having had a substance use disorder in the past year.
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2023-2024 YEARBOOK | EXTENSION FOUNDATION/NTAE
EXTENSION FOUNDATION/NTAE | 2023-2024 YEARBOOK
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