♪ john: tonight on "pbs news weekend"... a new report examines the changing face of extremist hate and anti-government groups in america. then... a look at the shortage of urgently needed mental health services for childrewho survive gun violence. and... the importance of deaf children learning sign language early in life. >> it's very difficult to go back and fill in the gaps for their language functioning and for their everyday use of language. ♪ >> major funding for "pbs news weekend" has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to

provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of no contract plans and our u.s.-based customer service team can find one the fits you. to learn more, visit consumercellular.tv. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions -- and friends of the "newshour." ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. john: good evening. i'm john yang. president biden held the first

big rally of his re-election campaign today in philadelphia. it was before a crowd of hundreds of enthusiastic union members. the day before, the president picked up the joint, early endorsement of some of the biggest and most politically influential unions, including the afl-cio, and groups representing teachers and city and state government workers. organized labor's support was key to his 2020 victory. today, he struck a decidedly economic, populist tone. pres. biden: if investment bankers in this country went on strike tomorrow, no e would notice this. [laughter] no, think about this in a literal sense. if this room didn't show up for work tomorrow, the whole coury would come to a grinding halt. [cheering] so, tell me -- tell me who matters more in america? hn: the president made news on other fronts, too -- he told reporters he hopes to meet chinese president xi jinping in

the next several months. secretary of state antony blinken is in china this weekend for talks aimed at easing tensions between washington and beijing. and mr. biden condemned russia's deploynt of tactical nuclear weapons to belarus, calling it totally irresponsible. russian president vladimir putin said he would send more nukes to belarus later this year. an overnight attack on a school in uganda has left at least 41 people dead. armed rebels linked to the islamic state entered a dormitory and attacked students with machetes. othersurned to death after the rebels set the dorm on fire. the rebels crossed the nearby border into congo with six people they had abducted the rebel group opposes uganda's president, who is a u.s. ally. and, pennsylvania governor josh shapiro said today a damaged stretch of interstate 95 in philadelphia will reopen within two weeks. president biden toured the collapsed highway by helicopter today. crews are using recycled glass pieces to fill in the collapsed

area. they'll pave it to create a temporary roadway. i-95 is a key artery for car and truck traffic along the east coast. still to come on "pbs news weekend"... a look at mental health services for children who survive gun violence. and... the choices parents of deaf children face about sign language. >> this is "pbs news weekend" from weta studios in washington, home of "the pbs newshour," weeknights on pbs. john: americans have rarely been as polarized as they are today. and as hate groups edge toward thlitical mainstream, experts say they're employing new tactics and taking on new forms. earlier this month, the southern poverty law center added 12 conservative parent's rights groups to its list of more than 1200 extremist hate and anti-government organizations.

among those added -- moms for liberty, a conservative group that works against school curriculums that include gender, race and lgbtq+ topics. earlier, i spoke with susan corke, who leads the team at the southern poverty law center that tracks extremist groups. i asked her why the center added organizations like moms for liberty to their list of extremist groups. susan: we've been tracking the se of moms for liberty and the other, we're calling them anti student inclusion groups. they're trying to claim that they are just engaged parents. but, you know, behind their statements, their their actions really show different goals. we included them in this year's report because of their anti-government principles. they traffic in conspiracy theories about an illegitimate government. they take actions to censor school discussions around race , discrimination, lgbtq identities. john: one of the founders, co-founders of moms for liberty, tiffany justice, was quoted in the conservave newspaper the washington examiner, as calling

the inclusion of her group on your list absurd and insulting and saying that it paints a target on the backs of american moms and dads. what's your response? susan: i am a mother, too. i am a mother to a mixed race child. and what moms for liberty is trying to do, essentially, is to turn back the hands of time to the pre civil rights era. you know, this movement at they are now spearheading is not new. they are trying to change curriculum so that we don't cover our rd history of slavery and racism. what they want is a public education that prioritizes white, cisgender children and otherizes children of color and different gender identities. john: they're saying that they are a parental rights group. what would they have looked like in the past? susan: so following the 1954

landmark and unanimous u.s. supreme court brown versus board of education decision, which outlawed, of course, segregation in public schools -- that was when the real backlash arose, the birthing of this parental rights movement. the groups that arose were comprised mostly middle to upper middle class white southerners that were seeking to preserve their segregationist way of life. what we're experiencing right now is this new wave of so-called parents rights advocates that really gained energy during the pandemic, rallying together around covid 19 mask and vaccine mandates in schools. and then they continued on going after critical race theory, going after lgbtq, trans persons. john: the splc in the past has sort of gained notoriety because of klanwatch.

track groups like the ku klux klan, neo-nazis, other white supremacist groups. and now you're tracking a group that calls itself moms for liberty. what does that say to you about how extremist groups haveged eie changed their tactics over time? susan: what we have seen is a change in the composition of the hard right since -- before trump was in office, but particularly when he was in office. these hard right groups really had access to mainstream politics. they had direct access to the white house. so they really gained influence, you know, in the wake of the insurrection. they had to change tactics. and so they started moving to take the mainstreaming and the political influence that they were able to gain within the republican party. they took it to the local level. and they have defined school

boards and public education as one of their new battlefields. john: what can be done in your view? what should be done in response to groups like this and to combat groups like this? are there policy changes you'd like to see? susan: one thing that we really recommend, is that there be much more investment from government at the national level as well as at the state and local level and partnerships, public and private, to be really investing in preventing hate and violence before they occur. hand-in-hand with community resilience measures and a greater emphasis and funding for inclusive ucation and teaching our hard history. john: susan corke of the southern poverty law center, thank you very much. susan: thank you so much, john. happy to be here. ♪

john: children's firearm related injuries are on the rise. according to the latest data, nearly 16 in every 100,000 children experience gun violence. ali rogin hathe latest on what this is doing to the mental health of children across the country. ali: since 2020, guns have been the leading cause of death for children in america. while many tragically lose their lives, child survivors of gun violence can endure a lifetime of physical and mental health challenges. a new study from the american academy of pediatrics points to the urgent need for connecting children to mental health services following a firearm injury. the study analyzed medicaid data of children aged 5 to 17 who suffered a non-fatal firearm injury. it found that 63% of these children do not receive mental health services within six months after a firearm injury. the research noted black youth

are less likely to have any mental health follow up than white youth. jennifer hoffman is a pediatric emergency medicine physician at lurie children's hospital of chicago. she's also one of the lead authors of the new study. jeifer, thank you so much for joining us. first of all, this seems like such a no brainer that if children are going through a traumatic event, lika firearm experience, that they would have access to mental health services. why is this not the case? why is this not ubiquitous? jennifer: unfortunately, there's so many barriers for children to access mental health care in the united states. we know that one in five children in the u.s. has a mental health condition, but only half receive needed mental health services. and there are many reasons for this, ranging from under recognition to stigma, but also structural barriers such as workforce shortages of mental health professionals. ali: for this study in particular, why ok at mental health services following a firearm injury? jennifer: as a pediatric

emergency medicine physician, it's devastating to me every time i have to care for a child who's experienced a firearm injury. and if the child is lucky enough to survive, the experience can be very traumatizing for them. research shows that firearm injuries can have lasting impacts on child mental health. so we wanted to understand which children were able to connect with mental health services and which children could do so in a timely manner. ali: what did you find in terms of the differences between children who received follow up mental health care and those who didn't following a firearm injury? jennifer: we found that children who had mental health needs detected during their injury visit were more likely to receive timely mental health services. so that means if mental health needs are recognized during the emergency department visit or hospitalization, they were able to connect sooner with mental health care. that's important because early treatment is more effective, and it allows children to respond to more simple interventions such asutpatient therapy, rather than waiting for symptoms to progress and become more severe,

requiring intensive treatment like psychiatric hospitalization. ali: what does that early intervention look like in the aftermath of a firearm injury if child is receiving mental health services? what sort of interactions are we talking about? jennifer: it can vary. it can be simple treatments provided in the primary care office. it can be a referral to a therapist for outpatient therapy, or it can be more intensive care as needed based on what the child's experiencing, such as the day program or occasionally even a hospital stay if needed. we found that some of the most common mental health conditions that occurred after a firearm injury were traumatic related disorders such as ptsd. we also found increases in substance use among children after their firearm injury and double the rates of serious mental illness such as schizophrenia and suicidal thoughts and self-harm. ali: what are some of the barriers to children receiving this type of care following these incidents? jennifer: there are too many

barriers. and one reason is that there are significant workforce shortages of mental health professionals in the u.s., but particularly in high poverty areas, in those communities where most firearm injuries occur. and this is also compounded by limited reimbursement rates for mental health services, particularly those offered by medicaid relative to private health insurance. and the reason that we focused the study on medicaid enrolled youth is that most youth in the u.s. who sustained firearm injuries are enrolled in medicaid. ali: wow. and that leads into my next question, i think, which is what did you learn about the racial disparity in these numbers? the fact that black youth are less likely to experience mental health services in the aftermath than other other races are. jennifer: this is a troubling finding, but unfortunately, it wasn't surprising to our research team, given a large body of evidence showing there are disparities in access to

mental health care among u.s. black youth. and there are many possible reasons for this, ranging from familial factors, stigma, cultural barriers,ut more importantly, structural barriers, such as a lack of mental health providers in the counities where black children live, and a substantial lack of diversity in the mental health workforce. ali: so what does that mean in terms of what policymakers can do? what would you like to see change? jennifer: first of all, i think that policymakers should make more substantial investments to improving access to mental health services for children. and this includes meeting children where they are, investing in school based mental health services. also, telehealth mental health services that can connect to children in communities that don't ha an in-person mental health provider. also, policymakers need to increase research funding to address and prevent firearm injuries by applying a public health approach. we know that research on firearm injuries is substantially underfunded relative to the morbidity and mortality burden.

ali: absolutely. and lastly, jennifer, what types of resources should parents and caregivers be aware of when it comes to mental health related to these sorts of events? jennifer: it is important for parents to have open and honest conversations with their children. and if you have any concerns about your child's mental health, talk to your pediatrician first. they can provide an initial assessment and referrals if indicated. also, if your child experiences a mental health crisis, don't leave them alone. call the national mental health hotline, 988, to be connected to a trained counselor 24/7. ali: and of course, we can talk much more about the spate of gun violence incidents in this country, but we will leave it there. jennifer hoffman with lori children's hospital of chicago, thank you so much for your time. jennifer: thank you for having me. ♪

john: more than 90 percent of deaf children in the united states are born to hearing parents. for them, the path forward isn't just difficult -- it's controversial. with the advent of cochlear implants, technology has the opportunity to change lives. yet many deaf advocates say not teaching sign language is a risky proposition. pamela watts of rhode island pbs weekly takes a look at the stark choices some parents face. pamela: jesus was not diagnosed as deaf until he was three years old. his mother spent years trying to figure out why he wasn't communicating. doctors gave her a choice, a cochlear implant or sign liquid -- sign language. they said -- >> the cochlear implant, he will

talk. or you can do sign language. of course i wanted to be where he can talk and hear so my son ll have good communication. pamela: jesus went through three surgeries for his implant, and also went to a specialty school in rhode island that focuses him smoking leg which. after seven years, he wasn't showing much progress. >> i'm asking for a second opinion. pamela: it turned out he had an auditory nerve proem that the implant would never have been able to resolve. how did you feel when you heard that? >> oh my gosh, my entire world, everything is... i cried a lot. then i decided to think about some thing else.

we are talking about school. pamela: at rhode island school for the deaf, parents like marta are learning american sign language together. >> a group hug is what this mouse needed. pamela: david is their teacher. >> this is the sign for i love you, you will see this a lot in american sign language. pamela: nancy is the director. >> we frequently, especially the last for years, have a number of students referred to us that have no or little language they might have 50 to 100 spoken words when they should have thousands. pamela: most arrive never having learned any sign language. >> you and i because we are hearing, we learn from our environment all the time. we learn from mom on the telephone talking to the plumber. a deaf child might not get any

of that. they are not getting incidental learning our brain learns from. pamela: that brain growth is the focus of extensive growth -- extensive research. >> we seen a lot of research that app a creek or sensitiveearso periobed pennino -- depending on who you talk to. it is a time when we are born biologically ready to acquire language. pamela: studies estimate the window lasts from birth to ages three to five. if children cannot easily hear people talking or see people signing, they run the risk of developing what is known as language deprivation. >> their thinking becomes locked in the concrete. they can continue learning but th don't do well in the abstract and cannot keep up. >> by the time that critical period is over, it is very

difficult to go back and fill in the gaps for the language functioning and ready use of language. there is a very powerful, a very strong structure and system, both medical and education, in our country, that strongly support using spoken leg which only approaches. pamela: paul says only less than 10% of deaf children in america learn sign language jesus did not start learning asl until he was 11 years old at rhode island school for the death. >> way behind. way, way behind. pamela: he has to work harder. >> so hard. pamela: paul says the language deprivation should not happen to any child. >> we already know how to

prevent these problems. you give deaf children sign language. it is completely preventable. i have seen problematic framings that options are framed as or. you have to pick asl or english spoken language what i'velso seen is it doesn't have to be that way, it can be and. you can have asl and english. pamela: to prevent language deprivation, more than 20 states across the country have passed laws to monitor deaf children's language development milestones. similar bills have be proposed in rhode island but have not passed. another group of hearing parents. >> if you make a snowman with your children -- pamela: they are being interpreted aloud. >> there is more snow.

pamela: he signs the picture book the snowy day. >> sleeping all night. pamela: and teaches key vocabulary to the parents. >> he is walking along and he sees a tree. looks up and is poking the tree. pamela: so they can sign bedtime stories to their children. >> he woke up. yeah. pamela: it is a familiar road for gomez, who has been learning sign leg which for jesus. he says -- she says he helps her get better. >> when we are cooking together, how do i say this or this? pamela: yes, he is my teacher. pamela: what do you say to him

to keep you motivated? >> i just show how much i love him, it doesn't matter what happens. you always have all my support. pamela: that's the approach maguire heath says all parents should take. >> you are the link. except your child as he or she is, let them know that, and give them every tool in the book, including american sign language. they will let you know what works for them and what doesn't. they will appreciate that you're open to all of that. pamela: for pbs news weekend, i am pamela watts in providence, rhode island. ♪ john: there's more online including an in-depth look at the limited choices unhoused americans have when they are dying, and the organizations trying to fill that need.

all that and more on our website, pbs.org/newshour. and that is "pbs news weekend" for this saturday. on sunday, a look at the challenges faced by native american communities whose tribal lands cut across modern borders. i'm john yang. for all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. see you tomorrow. >> major funding for "pbs news weekend" has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been offering no contract wireless plans designed to help people do more of what they like. our u.s.-based customer service team can find a plan that fits you. to learn more, visit consumercellular.tv. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions -- ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.]

- please stand and welcome our local lgbt seniors who helped pave the way for us all. (rhythmic drum beats) fountainovetirement community, wants to proudly say, "love is love." we're celebrating the 50th anniversary of stonewall. many of the residents you see marching today, with the fountaingrove lodge, stood strong and began to fight for the rights that we share today. (car horn beeping) rowd cheering) (birds chirping)