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a severe national shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists
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the lack of parity in the health insurance system
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the lack of community systems of care. The AACAP has a clear legislative agenda to help eliminate these barriers.
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The Continuing Shortage of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists
- JAACAP - Sep 2006 -
State CAP Shortage Maps - University of Texas
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AACAP Policy Statement on Parity - Parity and Access for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Care - Jun 2003
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Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (S. 3155)
On June 18 2008, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee today introduced legislation to extend the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) (S. 3155), which authorizes key programs designed to protect young people, keep them out of trouble, and provide necessary resources and programs to provide children with every opportunity to become productive adult members of society. The JJDPA authorizes a series of competitive grant programs through the Department of Justice to help reduce crime among youths and recidivism in the juvenile justice system.
The proposed legislation would increase federal funding for prevention, intervention and treatment programs designed to reduce incidence of juvenile crime. The bill strikes a balance between providing federal support and guidance to state programs and respecting the individual criminal justice policies of states. The bill urges states to make key improvements to juvenile justice systems, and addresses concerns about pretrial detention of youths in adult jails and about detention of children who commit status offenses like truancy by establishing meaningful guidelines, procedural protections, and restrictions. The legislation also prioritizes and funds mental health and drug treatment for juvenile offenders, and encourages states to further address the overrepresentation of minorities in the juvenile justice system. Finally, the bill supports the efforts of states that attempt to comply with the core requirements of the JJDPA by making funds available through improvement grants to help bring states into compliance with the Act. On July 31, 2008, the bill was reported favorably out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Health Centers Renewal Act of 2008
On September 25, the House and Senate cleared the Health Centers Renewal Act of 2008 for the president’s signature. The bill, H.R. 1343, authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to recognize the unique needs of high poverty areas in making grants for projects to plan and develop health centers to serve medically underserved populations and further requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration project under which up to 30 qualifying integrated health systems receive grants for the costs of their operations to expand access to primary and preventive services for the medically underserved. The bill also reauthorizes Community Health Center programs, Rural Health Care Services Outreach grant programs, and the National Health Service Corps. To view the legislation, please click here.
Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008
On October 7, President Bush signed the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, (P.L. 110-351, Fostering Connections Act) into law. The bill, HR 6893, combines elements of proposals that were introduced in both the House and Senate.
The measure:
Doubles the amount states receive for the completion of certain adoptions. For example, if a state boosts adoptions of special-needs children above its previous high point, it would thereafter receive $4,000 per adoption, up from $2,000; for increasing adoptions of children over age 9, in the same way, a state would receive $8,000 per child, up from $4,000.
Establishes “Family Connection Grants” to spur placement of foster children with blood relatives such as grandparents, aunts and uncles. Relatives who adopt those children would receive the same federal payments as non-relatives who adopt a child out of foster care.
Allows older foster children eligible to receive support benefits until age 21, expands programs to bring foster children to and from school, and extends all program benefits to the states and Indian tribes.
Stop Child Abuse in Residential Treatment Programs for Teens
On April 24, 2008, Representative George Miller (D-CA) introduced the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Treatment Programs for Teens Act of 2008 (H.R. 6358) to better regulate boot camps and other alternative placement facilities. The legislation is a response to numerous studies documenting the ineffectiveness of these programs and, in several instances, tragic deaths as a result of child abuse and neglect as reported by the Government Accountability Office in October 2007. GAO has issued a new report that was the basis of this hearing. The report examined selected cases of abuse, death, and deceptive marketing. H.R.5876 would require programs to disclose to parents the qualifications and responsibilities of all current staff members and to notify parents of substantiated reports of child abuse or violations of health and safety laws. The bill includes an increase in authorized funding for the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act from $120 million to $200 million for states to institute these initiatives, and a separate authorization of $50 million for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish inspections and regulations. On June 25 the bill passed the house by a margin of 318-103.
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AACAP Member Christopher Bellonci, M.D. testified before the House Education and Labor Committee about this bill. Click here to read his testimony.
Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2007
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act, S. 2304. This bill will boost mental health services in prisons and reauthorize through 2013 a grant program created in 2004 to improve inmates' mental health treatment. The amended bill would authorize new program grants to train law enforcement personnel to respond to incidents involving mentally ill individuals. Funding for the grants would increase from $50 million to $75 million annually for fiscal 2009 – 2013. The measure also would require the Justice Department to report on the percentage of mentally ill offenders who are homeless and the rate of serious mental illness among those in custody or on parole
The AACAP Department of Government Affairs will continue to monitor this bill. A link to the bill is included below.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas
Health Care for All Children
AACAP is committed to the reauthorization and adequate funding of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). In 1997, some states who participated in the SCHIP chose not to cover or provided limited mental health benefits. We urge that any reauthorization of this program receive adequate funding to provide access to the range of services needed for a child’s healthy development, including language that would eliminate the discriminatory treatment for mental health coverage.
Latest Action
Prior to the holiday recess, Congress passed a continuation of SCHIP legislation. Under S. 2499, SCHIP has been extended through March 31, 2009, with sufficient funding to maintain current enrollment and avoid shortfalls, and places a moratorium on a proposed regulation that would restrict coverage and payment for Medicaid Rehabilitative Services.
Quality Health Insurance for All Children
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Contact your legislators on this issue
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Contact your legislators on this issue
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Contact your legislators on this issue
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Contact your legislators on this issue
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