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Crisis Point

How New York Wrecked Mental Health Care for Kids

State leaders promised to expand young people’s access to mental health services. Now, families are struggling to get care for youth in crisis.

Impact of Our Reporting
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Crisis Point

“We’re at a Crisis Point”: NY Attorney General Hearing Spotlights Child Mental Health Care Failures

After THE CITY and ProPublica exposed a dramatic drop in beds at state psychiatric hospitals, New York’s top law enforcer takes agonized testimony from patients and providers — and the parent who’d told us of her son’s monthslong wait for care.

by Abigail Kramer and Gabriel Poblete, THE CITY,

Local Reporting Network

9 stories published since 2022

New York Closed Psych Beds for Youth in Crisis. Now, Foster Care Programs and Host Towns Are Being Pushed to the Limit.

by Abigail Kramer, THE CITY,

New York Charter Schools Write Their Own Rules for When to Call 911 on Students Having a Mental Health Crisis

by Abigail Kramer, THE CITY; Photography by Sarah Blesener for ProPublica,

NYC Schools Handcuff and Haul Away Kids in Emotional Crisis

by Abigail Kramer, THE CITY, photography by Sarah Blesener for ProPublica,

The Balancing Act of Reporting on Vulnerable Kids While Protecting Their Privacy

by Abigail Kramer, THE CITY,

Public Schools Are NYC’s Main Youth Mental Health System. Where Kids Land Often Depends on What Their Parents Can Pay.

by Abigail Kramer, THE CITY, illustrations by Holly Stapleton, special to ProPublica,

New York Let Residences for Kids With Serious Mental Health Problems Vanish. Desperate Families Call the Cops Instead.

by Abigail Kramer, THE CITY,

New York Increases Funding of Mental Health Care for Kids, Including Cash Governor Says Will Reopen Hospital Beds

by Abigail Kramer, THE CITY,

New York State Failed to Provide Legally Required Mental Health Care to Kids, Lawsuit Claims

by Abigail Kramer, THE CITY,

Cuomo Set Out to “Transform” Mental Health Care for Kids. Now They Can’t Get Treatment.

by Abigail Kramer, THE CITY, photography by Sarah Blesener for ProPublica,

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Sharon Lerner

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Andy Kroll

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Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

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Jesse Coburn

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