Population In Focus
In Virginia, an estimated 85,000 to 104,000 kids between the ages of 9 to 17 struggle with a serious emotional disturbance.
This report spotlights pediatric behavioral health services available through Virginia’s Secretary of Health and Human Resources. It describes a system that is punctuated by wait lists, inadequate services, silos of data and a scant focus on producing concrete results for some of the state’s most vulnerable kids.
An interim report by Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services identified 39 distinct services in a comprehensive behavioral health care system. None of the state’s 40 regional community services boards were providing all 39 services, per the report. In fact, five community services boards offered fewer than 10 services; 27 provided between 10 and 19 services; and just eight community services boards delivered 20 or more services.