Children’s mental health reforms OK’d

OLYMPIA – In the latest victory for mental health advocates, a House committee approved a bill Thursday to overhaul children’s mental health services across the state.

The bill allocates $27 million over the next two years to provide treatment to low-income children, as well as those in Washington’s child welfare and juvenile justice systems. It has garnered the support of city and county governments, court administrators, and medical providers.

“It is a large investment,” said state Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, D-Seattle, the bill’s sponsor. “But failing to meet the needs of children with serious mental health needs costs the state more money than this bill.”

The bill directs $10 million annually to help low-income children receive services more quickly and more frequently, and it would allow access to a broader range of treatment providers. State officials estimate that 130,000 poor children in Washington have a diagnosable mental health disorder, and studies indicate they are overrepresented in juvenile courts and the child welfare system.

In Washington’s juvenile justice system, more than half of all children on parole need mental health services, which studies have shown are key to preventing repeat criminal offenses.

“The juvenile detention system has become a dumping ground for kids who need mental health services,” Dickerson said. “It’s time to invest in the children’s mental health system. The children of today become the chronically mentally ill of tomorrow.”

In recent years, mental health advocates have won a string of high-profile victories by arguing that investing in treatment and support services will provide financial relief to beleaguered jails, hospitals and foster care programs.

“Frankly, it saves the state money,” said Randy Revelle, senior vice president of policy and public affairs for the Washington State Hospital Association, which is supporting legislation to require small businesses and individual health insurance plans to provide coverage for psychiatric treatment. “The benefits to businesses far outweigh the small increases.”

That bill, which follows a 2005 law that placed the same requirements on large employers, affects about 540,000 Washington residents.

Mellani McAleenan, government affairs director for the Association of Washington Business, said the legislative mandates are a burden to businesses already struggling to contain rising health costs.

“These small increases do matter very much,” McAleenan said. “It’s already an overburdened system.”

But for supporters, the legislation boils down to a simple choice: Pay a little now or a lot later.

“When you invest in prevention, you save money in other areas,” said Jon Gould, deputy director of the Children’s Alliance, a nonprofit advocacy group.

Dickerson’s bill addresses some concerns raised by a panel of experts assigned to oversee a massive legal settlement regarding the state’s foster care system. That settlement requires the state to improve mental health services to the 10,000 children in its care, along with dozens of other changes.

Yet according to a state study released last month, only one of every four foster children who need mental health assessments receives them within their first 45 days in care. Half must wait more than three months.

“This bill will help,” Gould said. “But children in foster care shouldn’t have to wait for a bill to pass in order to get a service that the state is required to provide.”