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States would get federal grants to hire and retain mental health providers in schools under legislation co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan. Hassan, a Democrat, said the legislation would create a new grant program at the Department of Health and Human Services. The federal government would cover 90% of the cost of providing mental health services to children enrolled in Medicaid. (3/6)

Many Minneapolis school counselors have caseloads topping 450 students — almost twice the workload recommended by the American School Counselor Association. St. Paul schools have one counselor for every 230 students. District officials and teachers union leaders agree the need for those mental health services is higher than ever and that boosting support for students is a priority. But coming up with a staffing plan to do that — and how to write it into a contract — has proven a sticking point at the bargaining table amid stalled contract negotiations. Absent resolution of that issue, and others including pay and class-size limits, teachers union members on both sides of the river are ready to go on strike Tuesday morning. (Klecker, Walsh and Campuzano, 3/6)

Dear Mom and Dad, if you’re trying to get your child to open up about some heavy emotions, please do not tell them, “We need to talk.” “That’s the worst way to start a conversation,” said Kansas City counselor Carron Montgomery, author of “The Invisible Riptide,” a book for parents and children explaining how to work through the world’s current “silent emotional tsunami.” Medical experts have warned that Americans are experiencing a mental health emergency made worse by the pandemic. Instead, try talking while you’re in the car so you don’t have to make eye contact, Montgomery said. Or while cooking dinner or playing a board game. “Kids are more likely to talk when they’re doing something, like shooting baskets,” she said. (Gutierrez, 3/6)

For years, the primary cause of death for younger Americans was automobile accidents. That’s evolving as firearm deaths mount — and they cost millions of years of potential life. In an analysis in Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open, researchers found that between 2009 and 2018, the United States lost 12.6 million years of life because of firearms alone. (Blakemore, 3/6)

Miles Smith belonged to a website where members from around the world help one another end their lives. Smith’s mother believes that’s where her first-born learned how to turn a common chemical into a lethal brew. Smith died last August in a Kansas City apartment at the age of 31, leaving a note with the security code for the cellphone and laptop. Lynn Hearst knew Smith still grieved the death of an ex-girlfriend, but she didn’t realize the depth of that despair. Unlocking Smith’s electronic devices, she was shocked to see what Smith did in the final minutes of life. (Gutierrez, 3/6)

In an industrial corner of downtown by the Los Angeles River, a mental health response team drove around in search of a man described only as wearing a blue shirt. Strapped to a seat in the back, 34-year-old Rafael Arias Delgado, a psychiatric technician, relayed the location to his teammates up front. “It’s at the end of Banning Street,” he yelled. The trio were among two dozen healthcare workers taking part in a mock training session Thursday to practice engaging mentally ill people in crisis who need treatment. In this case, the man in the blue shirt was a firefighter playing a role. The exercise came as city and county officials converged nearby at the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Station No. 4 to announce the launch of a pilot program for trained workers like Delgado, instead of law enforcement personnel, to respond to nonviolent emergency calls. (Vives, 3/4)

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to overhaul California’s mental health care system by expanding treatment services and compelling more people to accept help was cheered by many local government officials this week. But for many counties, the difficult question now is how they would pay for such an ambitious expansion of treatment and court services when many locales are already struggling to provide such care. Graham Knaus, executive director of the California State Association of Counties, warned that many behavioral and social health systems are still digging out from decades of underfunding. He said the part of Newsom’s plan that calls for sanctions if counties cannot provide comprehensive treatment to those suffering from debilitating psychosis is misguided. (Ravani and Gardiner, 3/4)