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Home> About Us> What We Believe> Position Statements >Position Statement 43: The Federal Role in Services that Address the Health and Wellness of Children, Youth, and Families

Position Statement 43: The Federal Role in Services that Address the Health and Wellness of Children, Youth, and Families

Policy Position

Mental Health America believes it is an essential role of the federal government to support primary and behavioral health, prevention, early intervention, childcare, education, and social services that promote the health, well-being, and safety of children, youth and families, regardless of their ethnicity, culture, or primary language. This role must be shared among agencies, including but not limited to the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Labor, and Justice, and by offices within these agencies. Services needed by families span the areas of nutrition, literacy, school-based programs, youth development, immunization, substance abuse treatment and prevention, education, delinquency prevention, primary and behavioral healthcare, early childhood development, housing, employment and training. 

Background

A nurturing, supportive family unit, whether traditional or non-traditional, offers children and young people an environment conducive to healthy development and emotional well-being. However, many families face unprecedented challenges related to their health, wellness, economic stability, housing, safety, and transportation. These issues, combined with limited access to social services, put many children and youth at risk for the development of primary health or behavioral health problems. Without support, children and young people with mental health needs are particularly vulnerable to developing problems at home, in school, with their peers, and within the broader community.

These factors can test the fortitude and resiliency of any family, and for those experiencing mental health needs, these challenges can, at times, seem insurmountable. For families of color, the challenges mentioned above are further exacerbated.  According to the Institutes of Medicine, families of color often have unequal access to health care treatment.[1] Disparities in health care have become more significant as the ethnic demographics of the United States have continued to evolve, with current data showing that one in eight people residing in this country are immigrants.[2] In addition, Hispanics, who comprise 14% of the population of the United States, are driving population growth, accounting for nearly half of the increase in 2005, more than any other ethnic or racial group.[3] These issues pose a challenge for the federal government to lead, in partnership with states, efforts to develop and implement culturally and linguistically competent programs that promote the health, safety and wellness of all children, youth and families. 88% of Asian American Pacific Island families are either foreign born or have at least one foreign born parent. This creates special challenges to providing services that not only respect culture but also fully integrate the parent as a full partner in their child care.

Many federal agencies support initiatives to improve cross-agency collaboration.  Mental Health America applauds these efforts as well as the increased recognition of health and wellness as a priority area of focus. Mental Health America believes that interagency collaboration and service integration are essential elements to address the health and well-being of children, young people and their families, particularly individuals with multiple needs requiring the attention of several categorical agencies.

Despite these efforts, more must be done to integrate federal programs and services designed to meet the needs of children, youth and families and to address the changing ethnic demographics of the United States. Mental Health America believes the following strategies must be implemented:

• Increase public awareness, public education and prevention activities focused on child development, health, resiliency, and emotional wellness;
• Increase methods for educating the general public about the mental illnesses that affect children and youth, suicide prevention, maternal depression, strategies for recovery, racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare, and effective children's mental health services;
• Establish guidelines to provide increased consistency and equity of care for children, youth and families of color;
• Establish policies that eliminate artificial service boundaries and strengthen the ability of families to care for their own children;
• Establish policies that eliminate cultural and linguistic barriers to accessing services; and
• Design, implement, and evaluate training program that addresses the developmental, cultural, and linguistic needs of children, youth, and families.

Call To Action

In order to meet the needs of all children, youth and families, particularly those who are faced with mental health challenges, Mental Health America supports federal leadership in the following areas:

• Bringing greater visibility to the health and wellness of America's children, youth and families;
• Making children's mental health a national priority across federal agencies;
• Promoting inter- and intra-agency coordination, collaboration, service integration, and the development of comprehensive national cross-agency initiatives;
• Financing initiatives that require states and communities to develop and implement community-based, culturally and linguistically competent primary and behavioral health, substance abuse, prevention, and treatment services for all children, youth and families;
• Building the capacity of states and communities to achieve health and wellness through knowledge  dissemination, technical assistance, web-based technology, and targeted discretionary grant programs, including an expanded mental health block grant program;
• Expanding research on prevention, mental health and substance abuse disorders, the efficacy of treatment and service delivery methods, and evaluation of promising practices;
• Giving attention to practices that show evidence in meeting the needs of specific populations (rural/urban, race/culture, age/developmental stage) of children, youth and families;
• Promoting and replicating evidence-based and promising prevention, early intervention and behavioral health services;
• Encouraging and supporting state efforts to collect data on the mental health needs of children in all child-serving systems (child welfare, juvenile justice, education, primary health, behavioral health, substance abuse, child care, and Head Start);
• Including families as partners in the design, development, planning, and evaluation of services developed or promoted by federal agencies;
• Emphasizing accountability by disseminating best practices to all communities, not just those receiving federal grants, including rural and under-served areas as well as communities of color;
• Prioritizing prevention, early identification, and early intervention for families with children at risk of developing emotional or behavioral disorders;
• Addressing policy barriers, regulatory conflicts, and funding mechanisms that inhibit creative and flexible service delivery to children, youth and families; and
• Ensuring adequate numbers of personnel, representing the diverse ethnicities and cultures of people in America, specializing in research and services related to children's mental health.

Page last updated: 09/20/2007