Bridging the Divide: Gaps in Mental Health Resources for K-12 Students in Nevada

Authors

Nicole Diaz Del ValleFollow

Document Type

Capstone Project

Publication Date

Summer 5-29-2025

Publication Title

Brookings Public Policy Minor Culminating Project

Last page number:

29

Abstract

Since 2014, Nevada has consistently ranked among the bottom five states, if not last, in the nation for youth mental health, with more than 34,000 youth reporting experiencing thoughts of suicide in 2025 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2023). The state’s student-to-counselor ratio stands at 456 to 1, nearly double the recommended 250 to 1 (American School Counselor Association, 2024). In Southern Nevada, these challenges are compounded with persistent provider shortages, chronic underfunding, and a fragmented system of care. This policy brief focuses on the barriers preventing students from receiving timely, effective mental health support in school settings and examines how workforce shortages, underfunding, and a fragmented system contribute to the problem. It then offers three interdependent policy solutions: increasing dedicated funding, expanding school-based telehealth access, and strengthening cross-sector community partnerships to build a more equitable, sustainable mental health infrastructure for K 12 students across Southern Nevada.

Keywords

Higher Education; K-12; Nevada; Children Mental Health; Mental Health; Southern Nevada; School-Based Telehealth

Disciplines

Higher Education | Public Affairs | Public Policy | Social Policy | Urban Studies

Language

English

Repository Citation

Diaz Del Valle, N. (2025). Bridging the Divide: Gaps in Mental Health Resources for K-12 Students in Nevada. Brookings Public Policy Minor Culminating Project
Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/brookings_capstone_studentpapers/26