Strategies for Increasing Access to Quality Mental Health Care for Children and Youth in Colorado
Summary - With generous support from the Penner Family Foundation, the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute conducted a comprehensive analysis of Colorado’s child and youth mental health landscape. This strategic analysis of existing and...
This report posits that the best behavioral health systems should mirror the best health systems for other conditions, with a focus on prevention, early detection, and access to best-practice care. This idea centers on two core principles:
The earlier mental health conditions are identified and treated, the better.
Given that mental illnesses are generally pediatric in origin, we must rethink and redesign health systems serving children, youth, and their families. To more efficiently connect young people to the care they need, mental health needs must be identified where young people are.
This analysis provides actionable recommendations for near- and longer-term systemic change to substantially improve and fundamentally transform the delivery and efficacy of mental health care for children and youth in Colorado. These recommendations focus on mental health care delivery, school mental health, workforce and innovation, and system-level action.
Key Findings
Colorado’s children and youth are in the midst of an ongoing mental health crisis; reform should prioritize early intervention to address needs before they reach severity.
Rates of death from suicide and homicide among Colorado’s youth are higher than the rest of the nation.
As in the case in all states, Colorado’s mental health system is systemically flawed; the state has begun to take steps to address these weaknesses.
While Colorado has been a leader in various aspects of mental healthcare transformation, mental health care for youth in Colorado would benefit from improving or scaling a number of best practices, such as pediatric collaborative care and youth crisis outreach teams.
