Week of March 24–28, 2025

General Mental Health

• Pediatric emergency departments could turn to dogs to reduce anxious kids and parents alike, potentially offering an alternative to medications, new data suggests. The randomized clinical trial of 80 children, published in JAMA Network Open, found that roughly 10 minutes with a therapy dog and its handler—alongside standard mitigation from a certified child-life specialist—was followed by “modest but significantly greater” reductions in child-reported anxiety and parent-reported perceptions of child anxiety, as compared to child-life therapy alone. Read more here.
• One of New York City Mayor Eric Adams' signature mental health programs is in question after a City Council report suggested sending mentally ill people who are homeless to involuntary care has been ineffective. Members were never happy with Adams' decision to force the severely mentally ill into treatment against their will, but their report comes as the mayor says he's gearing up to run for reelection and wants to tout his accomplishments. Read more here.

Youth Mental Health

• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took aim at a new target this week as part of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda: cellphones in schools. In an interview with “Fox & Friends,” Kennedy praised cellphone restrictions in schools and listed health hazards that he said were linked to phone use among children and teens — some backed by scientific research, others less so. Studies have found that excessive use of social media via smartphones can negatively impact teens’ mental health, elevating their risk of depression and anxiety. Read more here.

Veteran Mental Health

• As the Department of Veterans Affairs calls staff working in telehealth into offices across the country, a widespread concern about lack of space has emerged. The change will compromise medical ethics and patients' privacy, clinicians and advocates at multiple VA locations told NPR. Telehealth has become common in recent years among medical professionals — especially for mental health therapists — and the VA hired many clinicians on a remote basis. The practice allowed the VA to expand its reach of mental health services into rural areas. Read more here.

The Opioid Crisis

• Fentanyl and international drug gangs responsible for smuggling the deadly street drug rank among the top threats to U.S. national security. That's according to an assessment delivered by top Trump administration officials to members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "Cartels were largely responsible for the deaths of more than 54,000 U.S. citizens from synthetic opioids" during the 12-month period that ended in October 2024, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said during opening remarks. Read more here.

Federal Policy

• The CDC, with a core budget of more than $9 billion, is charged with protecting Americans from disease outbreaks and other public health threats. At the beginning of this year, it had more than 13,000 employees, and nearly 13,000 other contract workers. At least 550 probationary employees were laid off in February, although those layoffs were challenged in lawsuits, and two federal judges ordered that the employees be reinstated. According to some of the laid off employees, that hasn’t happened yet, although the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has extended their administrative leave pay. Read more here.
• A small agency with an $8.1 billion budget, SAMHSA, has managed to grow in recent years as federal policymakers looked for ways to help states and cities ease the human suffering of addiction and homelessness playing out on the streets. It sends out the vast majority of its funding in grant programs to state, country, and nonprofit agencies to operate mental health and substance abuse services. It also administers the grants that support the running of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline launched almost three years ago. Read more here.
• State and county public health departments and nonprofit groups are reeling after the Trump administration announced abrupt cancellation and revocation of roughly $11.4 billion in COVID-era funding for grants linked to addiction, mental health, and other programs. Read more here.