The children's mental health coalition has created a Bill of Rights for
Children with Mental Health Disorders and their Families. The coalition
includes the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), the Autism Society of America (ASA), the Child and Adolescent
Bipolar Foundation (CABF), Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), the Federation of Families for
Children's Mental Health (FFCMH), Mental Health America (MHA), and the
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
"This Bill of Rights represents the standard of what families living
with mental illnesses should expect from treatment," said AACAP's
President, Robert Hendren, D.O. "Children do better when they receive
consistent, tailored treatment. Few children receive any treatment and
fewer still receive the sustained, quality care that they require."
The Bill of Rights was created because of the inconsistency of accessible mental healthcare services throughout the country.
The Bill of Rights:
1. Treatment must be family- driven and child-focused. Families and
youth, (when appropriate), must have a primary decision-making role in
their treatment.
2. Children should receive care in home and community-based settings as close to home as possible.
3. Mental health services are an integral part of a child's overall
healthcare. Insurance companies must not discriminate against children
with mental illnesses by imposing financial burdens and barriers to
treatment, such as differential deductibles, co-pays, annual or
lifetime caps, or arbitrary limits on access to medically necessary
inpatient and/or outpatient services.
4. Children should receive care from highly- qualified professionals
who are acting in the best interest of the child and family, with
appropriate informed consent.
5. Parents and children are entitled to as much information as possible
about the risks and benefits of all treatment options, including
anticipated outcomes.
6. Children receiving medications for mental disorders should be
monitored appropriately to optimize the benefit and reduce any risks or
potential side effects which may be associated with such treatments.
7. Children and their families should have access to a comprehensive
continuum of care, based on their needs, including a full range of
psychosocial, behavioral, pharmacological, and educational services,
regardless of the cost.
8. Children should receive treatment within a coordinated system of
care where all agencies (e.g., health, mental health, child welfare,
juvenile justice, and schools, etc.) delivering services work together
to support recovery and optimize treatment outcome.
9. Children and families are entitled to an increased investment in
high-quality research on the origin, diagnosis, and treatment of
childhood disorders.
10. Children and families need and deserve access to mental health
professionals with appropriate training and experience. Primary care
professionals providing mental health services must have access to
consultation and referral resources from qualified mental health
professionals.