© 2024 WSKG

601 Gates Road
Vestal, NY 13850

217 N Aurora St
Ithaca, NY 14850

FCC LICENSE RENEWAL
FCC Public Files:
WSKG-FM · WSQX-FM · WSQG-FM · WSQE · WSQA · WSQC-FM · WSQN · WSKG-TV · WSKA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Dundee Superintendent Says State of Mental Health Care Is A Crisis

ITHACA, NY (WSKG) - There's a mental health crisis in Yates County, and a school superintendent adds her students can’t get the services they need. Dundee Central School superintendent Kelly Houck says mental health is decreasing while she sees the need for them increasing.

In a recent email to state and federal lawmakers, Houck described the steps families must go through to get ongoing care as “ridiculous”.

"Even if there’s something available", Houck says "by the time we get through the intake process and the referrals and everything else it can be up to 10 months before a family starts receiving services."

In the meantime, the superintendent says students come to school everyday in a state of crisis, a potential danger to themselves and others.

Houck says all levels of government have a role to play in solving the problem. On February 26 she and others in Yates county will meet with an official from the New York office of mental health services.