SE Grand Rapids News

Michigan’s mental health professionals were already strained before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the situation has only gotten worse over the last 11 months, according to reporting by Bridge Michigan.

In Detroit, Community Care Services has 20 job openings to fill, and that keeps mental health administrator Susan Kozak up at night.

These positions include case managers for children and adults, therapists, substance abuse clinicians and nurse practitioners. The organization serves thousands of children, adults and families in metro Detroit.

“It’s the No. 1 thing I worry about,” Kozak, the agency’s executive director, told Bridge Michigan. “We can’t start programs. We can’t expand programs. Our caseloads are through the roof. We are not meeting client needs.”

An analysis in 2019 by Altarum found that Michigan's treatment network had problems.

“The pandemic has exacerbated the situation to the point where (lack of mental health care) is near epidemic proportions,” Kevin Fischer, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, told Bridge Michigan.

The pandemic has put increased strain on people of all ages and has further strained a system that struggles to provide services to those who need it. The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released a survey showing that young adults 18 to 24 are twice as likely to report new or increased substance abuse or suicidal thoughts as adults 25 and older.

To improve the situation, there are a few things that mental health advocates say could better serve the communities that need help.

One idea is the expansion of federal loan programs for primary care medical and behavioral health professionals who are willing to work in underserved areas for a minimum of two years. Another idea is the expansion and support of the state-funded MIDOCs program to broaden residency positions in a variety of medical specialties, including family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and psychiatry.

A third solution is increasing salaries for direct care workers, which could improve mental health care for underserved communities. With a shortage of 34,000 direct care workers in Michigan, a $2 hourly boost for home health care workers -- which was proposed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer -- could make a difference. That boost was first approved in December, but it will expire at the end of this month.