Testimony to House Appropriations Committee Health and Human Services Commission
One in five children lives with a mental disorder. Most are able to manage with support and limited treatment. Yet, about one in 10 kids have a mental disorder so severe that it causes them to seriously struggle at home, in school, or in the community. Children and youth with serious mental health concerns frequently require a coordinated array of services from multiple systems. They are also often served best when they are in their homes and in their communities. We need our agencies to work together, in partnership with families, to provide "systems of care” that use effective practices to keep kids at home and in school, and not in hospitals, treatment centers, or in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems.