The Illinois Children's Mental Health Act (ICMHA)
Children’s Mental Health Act
Statement of the Issue On August 8, 2003 the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Act (ICMHA) became law (LuAllen, Koch, Taylor, Payton, Weissberg & O’Brien, 2005). A report by the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Task Force (2003) states the current system, prior to passage of the ICMH, is “fragmented, limited in scope, and poorly resourced”. The Illinois General Assembly is attempting to address these issues with the passage of this act. This law promotes the development and the implementation of a coordinated mental health programs specifically aimed at children from birth to their 18th birthday. The coordination of services is addressed in section 5-1 of the ICMHA which states, “…the mental health …show more content…
In 2000 that the U. S. Surgeon General published a published a report titled, “Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General (Martin, 2000). This report according to the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Task Force (2003) highlights the areas of prevention and service delivery in mental health. According to the Surgeon General’s report great strides have been made over many decades in the area of physical health. Advances have been made in how the body works, diseases affecting our bodies, and treatment which have all contributed to the increased life span that we enjoy today. The report continues on to state that advances have also been made in human behavior and the brain; however, in spite of these advances, mental health has all too often been relegated to an afterthought. In its report, Children’s Mental Health: An urgent Priority for Illinois, Children’s mental health is important to children’s well-being, academic successes and overall health. Be that as it may, little attention was given to children’s socio-emotional health except for those children presenting with severe mental health issues and this occurred even after research findings indicated that prevention and early intervention shows improvement to the mental well-being on children, birth to 18 years of age. The report states, “Bold reform of a highly fragmented and under-resourced system is needed to create a comprehensive and coordinated mental health system that meets the needs of children ages 0-18 years and their families” (p
Statement of the Issue On August 8, 2003 the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Act (ICMHA) became law (LuAllen, Koch, Taylor, Payton, Weissberg & O’Brien, 2005). A report by the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Task Force (2003) states the current system, prior to passage of the ICMH, is “fragmented, limited in scope, and poorly resourced”. The Illinois General Assembly is attempting to address these issues with the passage of this act. This law promotes the development and the implementation of a coordinated mental health programs specifically aimed at children from birth to their 18th birthday. The coordination of services is addressed in section 5-1 of the ICMHA which states, “…the mental health …show more content…
In 2000 that the U. S. Surgeon General published a published a report titled, “Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General (Martin, 2000). This report according to the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Task Force (2003) highlights the areas of prevention and service delivery in mental health. According to the Surgeon General’s report great strides have been made over many decades in the area of physical health. Advances have been made in how the body works, diseases affecting our bodies, and treatment which have all contributed to the increased life span that we enjoy today. The report continues on to state that advances have also been made in human behavior and the brain; however, in spite of these advances, mental health has all too often been relegated to an afterthought. In its report, Children’s Mental Health: An urgent Priority for Illinois, Children’s mental health is important to children’s well-being, academic successes and overall health. Be that as it may, little attention was given to children’s socio-emotional health except for those children presenting with severe mental health issues and this occurred even after research findings indicated that prevention and early intervention shows improvement to the mental well-being on children, birth to 18 years of age. The report states, “Bold reform of a highly fragmented and under-resourced system is needed to create a comprehensive and coordinated mental health system that meets the needs of children ages 0-18 years and their families” (p