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November 22, 2008
Report finds several states lack adequate care for children with serious mental disorders
USA Today (11/20, Elias) reports, "Publicly funded mental-healthcare for children has improved in the past 25 years, but top officials in more than one out of five states say no child with serious mental disorders receives good care in their states," according to a new report.
Investigators at the National Center for Children in Poverty at Columbia University "surveyed state and county mental-health officials and others involved with children's care." They "collected the information, updating a similar survey 25 years ago."
The data showed that "only seven states reported consistent funding for children of all ages." Notably, "some federal and state policies block Medicaid reimbursement for preventive or early care, such as with troubled preschoolers or those who don't have a major mental illness."
The report also indicted that "many states now help support school-based mental-health programs, which can stop trouble early, and a growing number promote or require treatment that's supported by evidence."
Related Links:
- "States lacking in children's mental health care," Marilyn Elias, USA Today, November 20, 2008.
Posted by admin at November 22, 2008 12:20 PM