mental health services

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history appears to be near an end. But weeks without paychecks and cuts to SNAP benefits put many Kansas Citians in desperate situations — and turning to local support systems like food pantries, mental health services and utility assistance programs.

Missouri’s competency-to-stand-trial system has become so overloaded that even people accused of low-level crimes now wait years for effective treatment. Most defendants bide their time in county jails that sheriffs acknowledge aren’t equipped to meet mental health needs.

Hundreds of Missouri residents are waiting in limbo after being found incompetent to stand trial. But until they can get a space at a state psychiatric hospital or otherwise receive mental health services, many are stuck in jail — despite not being convicted of a crime.

The federal government is going on four weeks of being shut down. Beyond the 30,000 federal workers around Kansas City who are working without pay, the shutdown also has trickle-down consequences for local mental health departments.

Kansas City first responders get bit, spit on and cursed at while on the job. In one recent case, a firefighter paramedic died after being stabbed in the chest. Increased attention to these incidents has sparked increased protective training by the Kansas City Fire Department, and proposed federal legislation from a Missouri U.S. Senator.

The number of people waiting in jail to be transferred to state mental health facilities reached an all-time high in February. People are sometimes being incarcerated for longer than if they’d actually received the maximum sentence for the crime they were charged with.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services appears poised to cut a $56 million annual grant program that pays for some of Missouri's overdose reversal medication and training.

Students in the Kansas City area are grappling with keeping their grades up and losing friends after the COVID-19 pandemic upended their lives. A group of students at Guadalupe Centers High School spoke with their peers about how that impacts their mental health.

Casi uno de cada cinco padres que viven en la zona dijo a Children's Mercy Kansas City que la salud mental de su hijo era "regular" o "mala", y el 11% informó que su hijo se sentía "triste" o "sin esperanza". Los hospitales y centros de salud locales ahora intentan preparar a los padres para ayudar con el manejo de problemas de salud mental entre los jóvenes.

Nearly one in five parents in the area told Children's Mercy Kansas City their child’s mental health was "fair" or "poor," and 11% reported their child feeling "sad" or "hopeless." Local hospitals and health centers are now trying to prepare parents to help manage rising rates of mental health issues among youths.

Platte County residents are suing the three-member commission for failing to implement a quarter-cent sales tax that voters passed in November. The tax would fund youth mental health services, which are severely lacking in the county.

From 2017 through 2023, roughly 2,680 people with developmental disabilities died under the care of the state of Missouri — on average, one person every day.