The Healthier Kids Foundation has just released At a Glance: Status of Children’s Health, its databook for 2022, full of statistics on the health and well-being of young people in Santa Clara County and beyond. The Healthier Kids Foundation is a diverse group of health and public policy-minded professionals “united in [their] desire to create the next generation of healthy, happy world leaders.”

A few of the key findings are summarized below:

Population Is Decreasing

California’s under-25 population is declining in 61% of its counties, and the population of Santa Clara County has dropped 3% between 2001 and 2021. COVID had a significant impact on mortality nationwide, as deaths outnumbered births in 25 states – up from only 5 states in 2019. According to the Census Bureau, the U.S. growth of 0.1% “is the lowest annual increase since the nation’s founding.”

Mental Health Needs Are Way, Way Up

• Like the rest of the nation, California is facing a shortage of mental health professionals.
• “A mental health crisis was brewing before the pandemic; COVID set it to a boil.”
• Between 2009 and 2018, incidents of youth self-harm increased 50%.
• 66% of students surveyed said the pandemic has affected their mental health.
• When asked to rate their mental wellness on a scale from 1-10 – mental wellness being the “ability to cope with normal stresses of life and work productively” – student responses were down 43% post-pandemic. A minority, only 39%, gave themselves a 7 or above for their current state of mental wellness.
• The Santa Clara County Office of Education has opened Wellness Centers in eleven local schools. So far, 3,586 students have visited them, and 82% of students found their visit helpful.

Youth Suicide

In the two decades since 2000, youth suicides have been trending upward. There was a spike in 2020, believed to be due to the pandemic. The report notes that high anxiety and stress, isolation, the negative effects of social media, and online bullying may have all been contributing factors.

Deaths Due to Overdose

Fentanyl poisoning is becoming a public health crisis among young people. Young people purchasing pills from unreliable sources are in danger. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), illegally-produced fentanyl is particularly lethal, as 4 out of every 10 pills produced illicitly contains a deadly dose.

During the pandemic, from May 2020 to April 2021, deaths due to overdose were up nearly 30%. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl were responsible for nearly two-thirds of those deaths.

You can read the full report here.