Mental health care resource assessment

The fourth goal of the conference report on children s mental health calls for the elimination of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in access to mental health care services. Schools are perceived as an important part of the strategy for enhancing access to mental health services for children. The conference report recommends that mental health services be colocated with other key systems, such as education, to improve access, especially in remote or rural communities. It also advises that if schools resource capacities are strengthened, they can serve as a key link to a comprehensive system of school- and community-based identification, assessment, and treatment services for meeting the needs of youth and their families. 

Other important documents in HSTAT include the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference Reports and Technology Assessment Reports the HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Service (ATIS) resource documents the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (SAMHSA/CSAT) Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIP) and Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (SAMHSA/CSAP) Prevention Enhancement Protocols System (PEPS) the Public Health Service (PHS) Preventive Services Task Force s Guide to Clinical Preventive Services the independent, nonfederal Task Force on Community Services Guide to Community Preventive Services and the Health Technology Advisory Committee (HTAC) of the Minnesota Health Care Commission (MHCC) health technology evaluations. 

Access reflects the extent to which children in need of mental health and substance abuse care receive services that match both the severity and the complexity of their needs (Institute of Medicine, 1993 Kiser, 2001). Addressing access issues from a system of care philosophy mandates an assessment of population needs, an evaluation of resources and management structures for meeting those needs, and delivery of the array (quantity, variety, and intensity) of services that match the level of need determined. The delivery of mental health services within schools provides multiple opportimities for improving access to care. 

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