Platte County parents say teen mental health is ‘heartbreaking.’ Would a new tax help?

As a mother of students who currently attend and have graduated from Park Hill South High School, Tara Bennett said the mental health of young people in Platte County weighs on her heavily. She dreads opening letters from the school saying another student has died by suicide, which she said feel continuous to her.

“It is heartbreaking to receive notices that ‘Park Hill Grieves’,” she said.

Bennett was one of about 30 Platte County residents who filled the Parkville Living Center Wednesday night for a town hall to discuss a question going before voters in next month’s election. Parents, politicians and other concerned voters gathered to criticize, show their support for and ask about the ballot question that, if passed, would establish a sales tax to fund mental health services for children and teens in the county.

The Children’s Services Fund would add a quarter-cent tax on sales made in Platte County for nonprofits and school programs that support children’s wellbeing from birth to 19 years old. It’d work similarly to parallel taxes and funds in Clay and Jackson counties.

If approved, the tax is estimated to raise nearly $5 million a year, which would cost the average county resident about $20 a year, according to the coalition pushing for the tax. Bennett pointed out that’s about the cost of four coffees a year, which she said she’d gladly give up for students’ mental health.

The money would go into a special fund, and a board of community members appointed by Platte County commissioners would decide where to distribute it. The commissioners opposed putting the tax on the ballot, but a coalition of nonprofits got enough signatures to put the question before voters on Nov. 5 anyway.

‘Throwing money at the issue will not fix it’

Chris Wright, the Platte County’s recorder of deeds, led the discussion opposing the tax at the town hall, arguing that enough money has been spent on mental health resources with what he sees as little to show for it.

Like others opposing the tax, Wright said he’s not against supporting Platte County’s youth. His concerns largely lie with the timeline of the tax — which lacks a sunset — and what he considers taking money away from taxpayers unnecessarily.

“I don’t think anyone opposes helping children in this room or this county,” he said. “The reason why I am opposed to this is because we have tons of programs.”

Wright said the county has programs that are underutilized by its residents. When asked, he said he couldn’t think of any programs in particular at the moment. He suggested nonprofits partner with one another to coordinate their services instead of seeking funds from taxpayers.

Beacon Mental Health and Synergy Services, two local nonprofits serving children in the Northland and supporting the tax, said they often work together to serve kids.

If voters approved the Children’s Services Fund tax, Wright pointed out that the county would perhaps still not have enough mental health professionals to be able to put more into schools, citing both local and national shortages of providers.

In Platte County, the provider-to-patient ratio was one provider to every 840 patients in 2022, according to an assessment by the Northland Community Foundation.

Instead, he suggested residents ask state officials to make it easier to certify more psychologists and school counselors faster, such as by cutting back the number of clinical hours required for licenses.

“Why just throw money at the problem like everyone else has done when we can come together, these organizations and our local elected officials, think outside of the box and lobby our legislators to make policy changes that will be effective to help our children,” he said.

Supporters say the need is dire

A survey conducted by the Northland Community Foundation revealed that 9% of Platte County’s students seriously considered suicide in 2022, almost one in 10.

Gregory Plumb, a professor of Criminal Justice at Park University, spoke on behalf of those supporting the Children’s Service Fund tax, using most of his time to address concerns and misconceptions about how it would work.

As far as the tax’s timeline, he said that if the county commission or residents wanted to end the sales tax in the future, they could do so by putting a question to repeal it onto a ballot in another election.

Originally, Jackson County voted in favor of a similar tax with a limit of five years in 2016. Voters had the opportunity to do away with the tax but decided to renew it in 2022. Plumb said Platte County voters could similarly bring the question back to the ballot.

Both CEOs of Jackson and Clay counties’ Children Services Funds attended the town hall to provide insight into how the tax works in their counties.

Scott Fricker, the presiding commissioner of Platte County, asked about how Jackson and Clay counties have managed to audit and assess the services the taxes support.

Rob Whitten, the CEO of the Jackson County Children’s Fund, said every program the county funds has to report on its success four times a year. A researcher on the team then reviews the reports. Some programs will not be returning due to not meeting the board’s standards, he said.

“That’s the problem,” said Fricker. “These results are coming from inside the organization.”

Kathy Macken, the CEO of Clay County’s Children Services Fund, said Clay’s programs are evaluated by an outside agency.

“We’re not looking at just the numbers. We’re looking at the therapy being provided, and is it effective? Is it working?” she said. “So we get into a deep dive.”

Plumb said he’s heard concerns in the community about money from this tax going toward gender-affirming care for transgender teens, but he said that’s a misconception. Missouri state statute prevents this tax from paying for any inpatient medical, psychiatric, and chemical dependency services.

“Anybody concerned about surgeries, transgender surgeries, whatever money cannot be used for that by statute,” he said.

Plumb encouraged people to look at the students who have been helped by the nonprofits that would benefit from the fund to see the positive effect it could have.

“You can talk to teachers that have students that have gone through one of these programs,” he said. “They will tell you what a joy it is to see when those children thrive.”

Services the tax would support include counseling and therapy both in and outside of schools, emergency shelter and services for youth in crisis, educational programs about healthy life choices, evaluations and diagnoses of mental health issues and more.

Everyone present at the town hall seemed to agree that mental health is declining among Platte County’s youth. But opinions diverged on how to best address it.

“If we aren’t going to have the resources to put into our county, what’s the plan?” she said. “Because I’m willing to give up about $20 a year to make sure I don’t get another one of those emails (saying) ‘Park Hill Grieves.’”

Platte County residents can vote on the Children’s Services Fund ballot question in the Nov. 5 election. To find your polling location, you can check your voter registration.