The Council of State wants to have an amount of more than 11 million francs to stem the effects of Covid-19 on the mental health of young people.
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Around the world, children and young adults are most affected by the mental health effects of the pandemic.
While Covid-19 is on the decline in Switzerland and around the world, its impact on youth mental health always remains. Particularly among those from vulnerable families. After a battery of measures financed to the tune of 5 million francs last summer, the Vaudois government wishes to strengthen and extend the services from prevention to medical care. Consequently, the State is requesting an additional credit of more than 11 million francs. Subject to the approval of the Finance Commission of the Grand Council.
Fighting school dropout
“This program also aims to reduce wait times for families and young people when they need to access support services,” the Township announced. Measures already launched to combat school dropout will be continued. “The consequences of the pandemic are still a reality, starting with the support needs of the students most at risk”, notes the Department of Training, Youth and Culture (DFJC).
“A sum of 5.3 million francs should make it possible to mobilize the resources necessary for this mission, which has already shown its effectiveness,” added the DFJC. “School support will be strengthened thanks to the establishment of co-teaching for students at risk of dropping out. This requires teachers or specialist teachers present in class to be available to students with special needs, “says Raphaël Gerber, Deputy Director General of the General Directorate of Compulsory Education (DGEO).
Particular emphasis will be placed on suicide prevention and strengthening relay professionals in the field of out-of-school care.
Combination of skills
Some 900,000 francs are planned to strengthen the training of teachers, psychologists, psychomotor therapists, speech therapists and integration assistants under the coordination of the DGEO and specialized pedagogy, the University Service of Child Psychiatry and adolescents from the CHUV and the Haute École Pédagogique du Canton de Vaud.
Curb the spiral
With the pandemic, the medical and interdisciplinary care of children and adolescents has experienced a remarkable increase. At the same time, suspicions of abuse, consumption of narcotics and eating disorders have also increased.
As a result, waiting times for the care of families with problems of abuse have lengthened, while requests were already on the rise long before the pandemic. To curb this spiral, the Department of Health and Social Action wants to hire, as of this year, specialized professionals to strengthen all the structures of the CHUV active in the psychological and medical care of children and adolescents.
