Our View

It is hard to keep up.

Children’s mental health has long been a footnote of mental health; just as mental health has been a footnote of healthcare. Now, children’s mental health is emerging as a major policy issue in Massachusetts.

Why now? There are several reasons:

• Clinics, especially those serving publicly funded clients, are working with more socially, culturally and clinically complex client groups, whose needs are less well addressed by traditional treatment methods.
• A new body of clinical research literature identifies “evidence based practices”, treatment approaches that are demonstrated to be effective and that promise more positive outcomes for youth and families.
• Numerous recent tragic deaths of children in state custody; increased youth violence and the demands of public school inclusion programs, have motivated diverse constituencies to focus attention on children’s mental health.
• Optimism about the new administration, and strong legislative and private sector leadership have emerged. A recent Policy Paper, authored by the CEO of Mass Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC) and the Chief of Psychiatry at Children's Hospital, chart a clear direction forward. (MSPCC & Children’s Hospital Boston, Children’s Mental Health in the Commonwealth: The Time is Now, November 2006, http://www.mspcc.org/site/DocServer?docID=382)
• The “Rosie D” remedy and the new Children’s Mental Health legislation portend significant changes in service delivery.
• There is a strong emerging, unified voice by advocates and families of “at risk” youth.
• Other states have had success in implementing models with more measurable outcomes, and are receiving attention and providing hopeful models.

There are substantial challenges to be met. Poor reimbursement to clinics has depressed salaries for clinicians, and better employment opportunities in other fields have led to a flight of many qualified individuals from public practice. This is already challenging the system’s capacity to deliver care. There is currently inadequate integration of funding, and more aligned leadership is crucial in order to build an integrated system of care for children and families.

But there is now some possibility for reshaping of current mental health systems and approaches, which would be aligned with one another and with the complex challenges faced by today's children and families.

The Children’s Mental Health Campaign is working, with broad backing in the Massachusetts House and Senate, to expand, better organize and fund mental health services for children and families through the current legislation. You can learn more about the details of this legislation, and how to become involved by visiting www.hcfama.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=607.

This legislation is the best opportunity in a generation to improve the access to, and relevance of, mental health care for children and families in the Commonwealth. We urge you to get involved.