CHA has launched a communications initiative to raise awareness regarding the current situation in children and teens' mental health by declaring a national mental health emergency. The Sound the Alarm for Kids initiative is multifaceted and primarily focuses on urging Congress to enact legislation and increase funding to address this situation. Your organization can join the effort.
Below are helpful members-only resources:
Overview
- Sound the Alarm for Kids one-pager
- Messaging
- Media talking points
- Nov. 18 Sound the Alarm for Kids Presentation and Recording
- Oct. 21 Sound the Alarm for Kids Presentation and Recording
National Mental Health Emergency
- National CHA, AAP, AACAP declaration press release
- Declaration language
- Sample press release
- Sample opinion editorial
- Sample letter to the editor
Spanish language documents
- Press Release
- Focusing on Children's Mental Health Fact Sheet
- COVID-19 and Children's Mental Health Fact Sheet
Sound the Alarm for Kids digital
Congressional hearings and briefings
- Feb. 15 Senate Finance Committee Hearing: Protecting Youth Mental Health: Part II – Identifying and Addressing Barriers to Care – CHA Statement for the Record
- Feb. 8 Senate Finance Committee Hearing: Protecting Youth Mental Health: Part I – An Advisory and Call to Action – AAP, AACAP and CHA Statement for the Record
- Feb. 1 Senate HELP Committee Hearing: Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders: Responding to the Growing Crisis – AAP, AACAP and CHA Statement for the Record
- Dec. 14 Children’s Health Care Caucus Mental Health Briefing
Dec. 14 materials
- Joint Fact Sheet
- AACAP: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Workforce Shortage Map by State
- AFSP: Suicide During the Pandemic
- CHA: Boarding Fact Sheet
Media
- WTOP radio ad
- Sound The Alarm Video 1
- Sound The Alarm Video 2
Fact sheets
Quote from Amy Knight, President of CHA
“It’s an absolute crisis. We came together with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists to sound the alarm on this. We pay a lot of attention to children’s health, and we often think about physical health. If any of us saw symptoms in our children—a fever, a cough—we would take them to a doctor and have them checked out. As a country, as a community and as families, we need to recognize the early signs of mental and behavioral health issues. We can prevent these things from escalating, and we can do more to take care of kids early on and make sure their mental health is taken care of with their physical health.”
