Support The Child Healthcare Crisis Relief Act of 2007 - H.R. 2073
May 2007
NAMI families and grassroots leaders know all too well the crisis that our nation faces in the shortage of qualified mental health providers to treat children and adolescents with mental illnesses. U.S. Surgeon General Satcher highlighted this crisis in the seminal 1999 report -- Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. According to that report, 13.7 million or 20% of our nation’s children and adolescents have a diagnosable mental illness – with 6 to 9 million or 9 to 13% having a mental illness that causes serious impairment. Tragically, in any given year, only 1 in 5 of these youth receive mental health treatment and services.
The lack of qualified mental health providers is part of the reason for the unacceptably high number of youth with mental illnesses that fail to receive treatment and why families are often told that they must wait on long waiting lists for services for a seriously ill child.
The Surgeon General put it best in stating that there is a "dearth" of child psychiatrists, appropriately trained clinical child psychologists, and social workers in this country. Here are the facts:
- The federal government has designated 3,543 urban, suburban, and rural localities as Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas due to their severe lack of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and other professionals to serve children with mental illnesses;
- According to the U.S. Bureau of Health Professions, the demand for the services of child and adolescent psychiatrists is projected to increase by 100% by 2020, while the number of these professionals is expected to increase by only 30% resulting in a severe shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists;
- According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, there are currently approximately 6300 child and adolescent psychiatrists in this country with a need at 32,000;
- The National Center for Education Statistics within the U.S. Department of Education reports that the national average student-to-school counselor ratio in U.S. schools is 513:1, more than double the recommended ratio of 250:1.
The consequences of untreated mental illnesses in children are devastating. These youth are at higher risk for school failure and drop out, alcohol and drug use, suicide (the 3rd leading cause of death for 10-24 year old young people), and engaging in high risk and unlawful activity.
As a result of the crisis in the shortage of qualified mental health providers to treat children and adolescents with mental illnesses -- Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and other House co-sponsors introduced H.R. 2073 – Child Health Care Crisis Relief Act of 2007.
The following is a summary of the provisions included in H.R. 2073:
Loan Repayments, Scholarships, and Grants. The bill creates incentives to help recruit and retain child mental health professionals providing direct clinical care, and to improve, expand, or help create programs to train child mental health professionals through the following mechanisms:
- Loan Repayment and Scholarships for child mental health and school-based service professionals to help pay back educational loans.
- Grants to graduate schools for internships and field placements in child mental health services.
- Grants for the pre-service and in-service training of paraprofessionals who work with children in mental health clinic settings.
- Grants to graduate schools to help develop and expand child and adolescent mental health programs.
Graduate Medical Education Program Extension. The bill also allows for an increase in the number of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists permitted under the Medicare Graduate Medical Education Program and extends the Board Eligibility period for residents and fellows from four to six years.
Child Mental Health Professionals Report. The bill instructs the Secretary to prepare a report on the distribution and need for child mental health and school-based professionals with respect to specialty certifications, practice characteristics, professional licensure, practice types, locations, education, and training, broken down by state.
Action Requested:
NAMI state and affiliate leaders and members are asked to contact their House representatives to ask them to co-sponsor and support H.R. 2073. The hope is to get as many co-sponsors in the House as possible.
All members of Congress can be reached by calling the Capitol Switchboard toll free at 1-800-839-5276 or at 202-224-3121 or by going to NAMI's Legislative Action Center. District and Washington office numbers can be found in your local phone book or through www.congress.org.