Why Are We Advocates?
Reports by the U.S. Surgeon General and President Bush’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health have stated some need to know facts regarding mental health in children and adolescents. Remember as you read these facts that, while the government asked for this study in order to know how best to support Americans with mental health, the FY 2006 budget is slashing the programs necessary to provide the services.
Prevalence of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders
- Four million children and adolescents in this country suffer from a serious mental disorder that causes significant functional impairments at home, at school, and with peers. Twenty-one percent of our nation’s children ages 9 to 17 have a diagnosable mental or addictive disorder that causes at least minimal impairment.[3]
- In any given year, only 20% of children with mental disorders are identified and receive mental health services.[4]
Consequences of Untreated Mental Disorders in Children and Adolescents
Suicide
- Suicide is the third leading cause of death in youth aged 15 to 24. More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease combined.[5]
- Over 90% of children and adolescents who commit suicide have a mental disorder.[6]
- In 2002, almost 4,300 young people ages 10 to 24 died in this country by suicide.[7]
- States spend nearly $1 billion annually on medical costs associated with completed suicides and suicide attempts by youth up to 20 years of age.[8]
School Failure- Approximately 50% of students with a mental disorder age 14 and older drop out of high school; this is the highest dropout rate of any disability group.[9]
Juvenile and Criminal Justice Involvement
- Youth with unidentified and untreated mental disorders also tragically end up in jails and prisons. According to an NIMH funded study – the largest ever undertaken –an alarming 65% of boys and 75% of girls in juvenile detention have at least one mental disorder.[10] We are incarcerating youth with mental disorders, some as young as 8 years old, rather than identifying their disorders early and intervening with appropriate treatment.
Higher Health Care Utilization
- When children with untreated mental disorders become adults, they use more health care services and incur higher health care costs than other adults. Left untreated, childhood disorders are likely to persist and lead to a downward spiral of school failure, limited or non-existent employment opportunities, and poverty in adulthood. No other illnesses harm so many children so seriously.[11]
Early Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment are Essential to Recovery and Resiliency
- Research shows that early identification and intervention can minimize the long-term disability of mental disorders.[12]
- Mental disorders in children and adolescents are real and can be effectively treated, especially when identified and treated early.
- Research has yielded important advances in the development of effective treatment for children and adolescents living with mental disorders. Early identification and treatment prevents the loss of critical developmental years that cannot be recovered and helps youth avoid years of unnecessary suffering.[13]
- Early and effective mental health treatment can prevent a significant proportion of delinquent and violent youth from future violence and crime.[14] It also enables children and adolescents to succeed in school, to develop socially, and to fully experience the developmental opportunities of childhood.
When advocating for the programs and policies necessary to aid our nation's most vulnerable citizens, it's helpful to structure your advocacy around the facts. These facts, having been produced by and for a Republican administration, allow us to contact our Republican lawmakers with confidence. Spend your seven minutes today educating a lawmaker on the needs of our young people, and the short-sightedness of slashing Medicaid.
posted by Gordon D. Smith, LPC @ 12.5.05
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