Mental Health policies within Public Health are more prominent today than they were ten years ago, however, there are still a lot of gaps when it comes to children with mental illnesses. “It is estimated that one of every five children and adolescents in the United States has a mental disorder” (Kataoka, 2002). All across the United States, different states have different policies regarding access and availability to mental health professionals. Many states have policies requiring children to have access to these professionals through public schools. One of the primary issues with this, resides with individuals who live in urban communities, are from low income families, or have various racial and ethnic backgrounds. Texas is one of these
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Those that are in place, are targeted towards individuals who attend public school and can easily access services. Treating children at a young age with mental illness will not only improve their quality of life, but help to erase the public stigma regarding mental illness, thus efforts must be made from a public health standpoint to implement a policy that provides these services to all children in need. ( OP-ED, 2015) According to the American journal of Psychiatry, “Populations that may be particularly vulnerable to lower rates of use of mental health services include ethnic minority youth and the uninsured.” (Kataoka, 2002) , thus the policy will target these populations to ensure they are receiving the resources necessary to live a healthy life …show more content…
One to encompass children in rural communities, and the second to target low income families. The first will ensure that there are professionals that can come to these children and or provide a way for these children to reach the medical professionals they need. “A public health framework offers promise for organizing the design and delivery of more accessible and appropriately targeted services to children living in urban poverty. “ (Atkins, 2015) This could potentially stem from the policy that is already in place for public schools, which requires schools to provide social workers and psychologist to aid these children, and extend the practice to private schools (OP-ED, 2015). Extending this policy would help reach rural communities, and would provide a way for families without insurance, or low income families to access
Those that are in place, are targeted towards individuals who attend public school and can easily access services. Treating children at a young age with mental illness will not only improve their quality of life, but help to erase the public stigma regarding mental illness, thus efforts must be made from a public health standpoint to implement a policy that provides these services to all children in need. ( OP-ED, 2015) According to the American journal of Psychiatry, “Populations that may be particularly vulnerable to lower rates of use of mental health services include ethnic minority youth and the uninsured.” (Kataoka, 2002) , thus the policy will target these populations to ensure they are receiving the resources necessary to live a healthy life …show more content…
One to encompass children in rural communities, and the second to target low income families. The first will ensure that there are professionals that can come to these children and or provide a way for these children to reach the medical professionals they need. “A public health framework offers promise for organizing the design and delivery of more accessible and appropriately targeted services to children living in urban poverty. “ (Atkins, 2015) This could potentially stem from the policy that is already in place for public schools, which requires schools to provide social workers and psychologist to aid these children, and extend the practice to private schools (OP-ED, 2015). Extending this policy would help reach rural communities, and would provide a way for families without insurance, or low income families to access