Challenges and Opportunities in Children’s Mental Health

Summary

This report adopts a family and youth perspective to discuss what isn’t working — and what can be done about it — in regards to children’s behavioral health policies and services. It is the byproduct of a meeting hosted by the National Center of Children in Poverty and shares the views of 16 stakeholders in the child behavioral health field.

Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Research Challenges and Opportunities from a Family/Youth Perspective
• Service Challenges from a Family/Youth Perspective
• Policy Issues from a Family and Youth Perspective
• Endnotes
• Appendices
• Mental Health Services

Key Takeaway

When it comes to pediatric behavioral health care, families and kids are still on the outside looking in

This report identifies 19 roadblocks to creating a family-driven, youth-guided approach to serving kids with behavioral health concerns. These challenges include a misplaced focus on mental illness instead of mental wellness, a shortage of family-focused research methods and the continued exclusion of families from treatment decisions.