East St. Louis School District 189 has appointed Antaniece Carter as director of social-emotional learning, health and wellness. Carter, a licensed clinical social worker and nationally certified school social work specialist, will collaborate with school nurses and social workers to enhance mental health, physical wellness and crisis response initiatives.

A recent FlexJobs report highlights that 55% of Americans aged 20 to 35 have faced a "quarter-life" career crisis, experiencing deep uncertainty about their roles and futures in the workforce. This phenomenon is not just a passing trend, but a significant concern impacting employee mental health and workplace productivity. The crisis is particularly acute in this age group as they try to establish stable careers amid industry changes and economic turbulence.

Georgia's Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner has fined 22 health insurers more than $20 million for more than 6,000 violations of the state's Mental Health Parity Act, which was signed into law in 2022 and requires equal treatment for mental and physical health issues. "Our initial examinations show that insurers have turned a blind eye to the rules and continue to deprive Georgians of the essential behavioral health resources they deserve," Insurance Commissioner John King says.

States are rushing to develop plans for the Rural Health Transformation Program, part of the recently passed H.R. 1 law, which includes significant Medicaid cuts but allocates $50 billion to support rural health care. The National Rural Health Association and other stakeholders have expressed concerns about the program's two-tiered funding model and the short timeline for plan submissions.

Create aligned autonomy within your teams by combining transparency, alignment to shared goals and iterative feedback, so they can make decisions confidently while staying coordinated with organizational objectives, writes startup advisor Keith Lucas. "Competent leaders of intrinsically motivated teams build systems optimized for team-based creativity, innovation and problem-solving -- systems defined by practices, principles and feedback loops," Lucas writes.

Concise, open-ended questions that end cleanly at the question mark and refrain from adding extra ideas or choices are key to eliciting valuable and unexpected insights, writes Shane Snow, an author and leadership expert. We ask wordy questions that suggest answers as a way to make ourselves and others more comfortable, Snow notes, but it reduces the possibility of learning something new.

Master social worker Monica Dorsey has become a national advocate by addressing mental health, substance abuse and workforce development. Dorsey, who is a workforce development program and grants manager at the TD Jakes Foundation, has created job placement programs, supported historically Black colleges and universities and developed pathways for underserved communities. She has also created the Thoughtful Conversations podcast.