AACAP/AMBHA Resolution Regarding the Use of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residents in MBHO Settings

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and the American Managed Behavioral Healthcare Association (AMBHA) jointly recognize that some children and adolescents need to be treated by child and adolescent psychiatrists. It is therefore, important that child and adolescent psychiatrists be available to work in managed behavioral health care settings. AACAP represents over 6,5 00 child and adolescent psychiatrists, physicians with at least five years of additional training beyond medical school in general and child and adolescent psychiatry. AMBHA represents the nation’s leading managed behavioral healthcare organizations that collectively manage mental health and substance abuse services for over 100 million individuals. We join together, in this resolution, expressing our support for the use of child and adolescent psychiatry residents in MBHO settings.

The shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists is one of the primary motivating factors in AACAP and AMBHA working together on this resolution. Today, 21 percent of children and adolescents ages 9-17 have a diagnosable mental disorder. Treatment by child and adolescent residents will give more of these children the opportunity to receive quality care. All child and adolescent psychiatry residents have completed at least two or three years of general psychiatry training. Child and adolescent psychiatry training teaches residents additional skills in behavioral and pharmacological interventions that are unique and critical to fully assess, evaluate and treat children, adolescents and their families. MEDICAID and TRICARE use residents to deliver care following specific guidelines. Most training programs follow guidelines regarding how the supervision of a resident must be provided and documented. As a result, residency training programs have made changes in the oversight and supervision of residents for the delivery of mental health services. Contracts between residency training programs to supervise and managed care organizations to credential residents will enable child and adolescent psychiatry residents to participate and gain experience in a managed care network. This, in return, will provide the patient with the highest quality of health care.

Based upon the resident’s level of training, supervision and licensure, AACAP and AMBHA support MBHOs use of child and adolescent psychiatry residents who are enrolled in accredited training programs. In accordance with the existing accreditation standards, AACAP and AMBHA recognize the unique requirements of MBHO credentialing programs and that the use of any providers and individual credentialing requirements is at the sole discretion of the MBHO.