“Children’s mental health suffers as staffing shortages ravage care centers”

Yvonne Smith, associate professor of social work in the Falk College, was interviewed for the WFYI Public Media story “Children’s mental health suffers as staffing shortages ravage care centers.” Smith, who studies youth care practice in residential treatment centers for children, believes that youth care jobs should have better pay in order to attract more qualified and passionate staff to improve mental health treatment for children. “We have to figure out how to pay people adequately given the amount of responsibility and challenge inherent in this work,” Smith said.