Children's Mental Health Access Project

Families trying to access mental health services for their children face many barriers, including long wait times for evaluations or residential placements. And even once a child is receiving treatment, insurance companies often may deny coverage for the recommended services. To address these problems, HLA created the Children’s Mental Health Access Project which uses HLA’s expertise in legal advocacy to expand and improve the delivery of mental health services to low-income children throughout Massachusetts.

As part of this project, HLA attorneys represent low and middle-income families whose children have been denied access to mental health services. The demand for these services has increased dramatically. Last year, we assisted 80 families and children with mental health concerns, a nearly 20% increase over 2006. We also refer cases to members of our Pro Bono Legal Network and train these attorneys on issues relating to children’s access to mental health services. HLA attorneys also work in the Fitchburg and Dudley Juvenile Courts, attending court regularly and receiving Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) appointments from Juvenile Court Justices to help children appearing before the court access much-needed mental health services, avoiding unnecessary placement in the juvenile justice system. The Project benefits from the expertise of David M. Keller, M.D. who is completing the first year of his two year Physician Advocacy Fellowship (formerly, the Soros Advocacy Fellowship) at HLA. Dr. Keller, a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at UMass Medical School in Worcester, is one of only four recipients of this prestigious award administered through the Center on Medicine as a Profession at Columbia University.

The Project also works with parents, school officials, and mental health clinicians to increase awareness of ways to improve access to mental health services for children. In order to achieve the advocacy goals of the Project, we have joined with Health Care For All, Children’s Hospital Boston, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and the Parent/Professional Advocacy League to create the Children’s Mental Health Campaign, an effort to comprehensively improve the delivery of mental health services to children throughout the Commonwealth. As part of this coalition, HLA has drafted model legislation directed at improving and expanding behavioral health services for children in the Commonwealth, and HLA is actively working with legislative supporters and dozens of advocacy groups to support and advocate for this bill.

Access to children’s mental health services remains a priority for HLA in the coming years, as we plan to expand our GAL work to the Boston Juvenile Court and to the City of Worcester Juvenile Court. We will also continue to be an active participant in the Children’s Mental Health Campaign and advocate for support of its bill, An Act Improving and Expanding Behavioral Health Services for Children in the Commonwealth. HLA will continue to explore new avenues to improve access to mental health services for children.

As part of its Children’s Mental Health initiative, HLA is proud to partner with The Boston Bar Association, Children’s Hospital, and Greater Boston Legal Services in developing the Parents’ How-To Guide to Children’s Mental Health Services in Massachusetts.  If you are a parent or guardian and have concerns about the mental health status of a child in your care, this Guide is for you.

 

HLA is a Key Player in Reform of the Massachusetts Children's Mental Health System

Although mental health care needs in children are more prevalent than leukemia, diabetes, and AIDS combined, 100,000 children do not receive the care and treatment that they need.

The Children’s Mental Health Campaign is a coalition of over a 100 organizations, health care providers, advocates, families, educators and consumers from across the Commonwealth who have joined together to reform the mental health care system for children- a system that is broken and seriously flawed.  Health Law Advocates is one of five groups which serve on the Executive Committee of the Campaign.

The campaign supports reform that removes the barriers that children and families face when seeking treatment by making it easier for families to access care from any point in the system.

In January 2007, Health Law Advocates played the leading role in drafting omnibus legislation, An Act Relative to Children's Mental Health.  The legislation filed by Chairwoman Ruth Balser and Senator Steven Tolman will:

• Identify mental illness earlier in children by reaching them in familiar and easily accessible settings, especially schools, early education programs, and pediatricians' offices.
• Ensure that when identified, the illness is treated in the least restrictive, appropriate setting.
• Improve insurance coverage for children with mental health needs.
• Restructure the oversight, evaluation and provision children's mental health services administered by the State.

HLA plays a leadership role in the Campaign and participates in all strategic advocacy decisions.  HLA has researched and written fact sheets, drafted legislative testimony and assisted in organizing advocacy and press events.

On August 14, 2008, the Bill passed the Massachusetts legislature and is expected to be signed into law by Governor Patrick very shortly.