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Health provider tells SHAC pediatric mental-health cases are 'a crisis'; subcommittee awaits survey data
Summary
A Texas Children’s Hospital specialist told the SHAC that frontline pediatric mental-health encounters have risen sharply and urged early intervention and more school-based mental-health professionals; the SHAC awaits survey findings before formal recommendations.
The CONROE ISD SHAC’s mental health subcommittee reported that district-approved parent, student and teacher surveys were distributed to principals and that the group is awaiting responses. During the meeting, Kelsey Martinez, a certified child life specialist at Texas Children’s Hospital — The Woodlands, described rising clinical demand and urged early intervention and increased school-based mental-health staffing.
"It is a crisis," said Kelsey Martinez, describing daily encounters with students who present with severe anxiety, suicidal ideation, or attempts. Martinez said hospital behavioral-health staff now screen all patients ages 11 and up with the Columbia‑Suicide Severity Rating Scale and provided local counts cited to hospital staff: 381 patients in Quarter 1 (October 2025–January 2026) in The Woodlands area were identified at moderate to high risk for suicide, and a behavioral‑health nurse logged 882 cases in 2025. Martinez said April 2025 also showed a spike in mental‑health presentations.
Subcommittee members cautioned that much of the data the hospital holds is protected by HIPAA and juvenile‑privacy rules; the group is seeking aggregate, de‑identified data and said it would use evidence collected from the surveys and public health partners to form board recommendations.
Dr. Taylor and subcommittee leads said the surveys include a parent instrument with an embedded student survey (permission-dependent) and a separate teacher survey; distribution and response timing varies by campus (some principals may send via newsletter or text). The mental health subcommittee plans to meet April 28 to review survey findings and consider specific recommendations to present to the board in July for the annual SHAC report.
No formal action was taken at the meeting; the subcommittee will report back after analyzing survey responses and any aggregated community health data obtained from local providers and agencies.
