Sandra Spencer, Executive Director for the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, met at the White House yesterday with Vice President Biden’s task force on gun control to ensure that the issue goes beyond just gun control. President Obama has asked Vice President Biden and the Cabinet to lead the Administration’s effort in identifying concrete proposals for real reform around the issue of gun control as well as improved mental health care. The United States Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, and Attorney General Eric Holder were present at this meeting. Ms. Spencer urged those in attendance to make sure that any task force or working commission dealing with mental health included parents with the lived experience of raising a child with mental health challenges, as well as young people who have lived this journey first hand.
Ms. Spencer made these additional comments during the discussion:
“We must deal with the real issue that children do have mental health challenges and parents don’t have support or access to services without fear of losing their children to public scrutiny, bullying, discrimination and even institutionalization. There is a serious lack of education in our society surrounding children’s mental health needs. These are not “bad” or “violent” kids and young adults. These are youth who need treatment and parents who need support in getting help early. These children, youth, and families need to know where to go, which treatment is best, and how to access community support. The isolation parents feel because of their children’s behavior, due to mental illness, keeps them from reaching out or even knowing who to trust for help. There should be national outrage at the number of young people who die each year by suicide and drug abuse, or the number of children with a mental health diagnosis that go untreated, and the lengths parents go to just trying to keep their children safe and out of trouble. This has to change in our nation before we can adequately address the need for an improved children’s mental health care system”
Other points of conversation included the following:
- Mental health issues in children are treatable. With meaningful and consistent care all children thrive when given access to services, support for their parents, youth peer support and a community free from stigma and discrimination.
- Children’s mental health is a public health issue because of the current rate of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders among children and youth and the broken system that fails to meet their needs. The lack of services and supports have immense negative consequences for families and communities.
- Mental health affects everyone! About one half of all Americans will meet the criteria for a mental illness at some point in their lives.
- Community-based treatment and support options are more cost effective. Philosophies such as wraparound and systems of care have been proven to increase positive outcomes and the quality of life for families, individuals and communities as a whole.
- The nation must address the mental health crisis of children and young adults. Schools, health care providers and community organizations need to make a mental health checkup as routine as dental and physical health checkups and provide meaningful and consistent care.
- Our Nation needs to normalize mental health care so that stigma and the fear of parent blame is no longer a deterrent to families asking for and seeking help.
- Parents need support from other parents who have lived this experience so they feel comfortable seeking help. Youth need peer support who will direct them to help when they feel they need support without shame. Parents and youth often feel isolated by society’s (stigmatized) reaction to mental illness.
- Children who need intensive mental health services must not be deprived of their right to be connected to their family and live in their community. Parents, siblings, and extended family are the only consistent and unconditional, lifelong source of emotional support for children with significant mental health problems.
Recommendations:
- Protect and continue to fund family-run organizations and the development of a parent support work force. Parents need support and help with knowing where to go, who to talk to and what to ask for in regards to helping their children. Legislators need to hear the voice of families.
- Focus our funding and research on prevention and early intervention as well as a positive mental health promotion and a wellness model for children, youth and families. Ensure the voice of youth and families are a part of any planning process.
- Look at the positive outcome data from the community-based systems of care programs and make sure they continue to be funded across the country.
- Create a forum for community dialogues across the country on children’s mental health so that we can educate the general population and end the stigma and discrimination that prevent parents and young people from seeking and having access to the services and supports they need.
