The AACAP is committed to the overall reform of our nation’s health care system. Mental health recovery is integral to overall health and should be included in any comprehensive health care reform package. The AACAP has submitted healthcare reform principles to President Obama’s transition team and hope that you will write to the transition team in support of our principles (www.change.gov).
Click here to download a PDF copy of the AACAP Health Care Reform Principles.
Click here to download a PDF copy of Dr. Hendren’s letter to President Obama's transition team.
Click here to see a side by side comparison of the Senate and House Health Care Reform bills.
Click here for Vice President Biden's Health Insurance Reform Reality Check.
Strengthening the Workforce
The AACAP’s 10-year priority is to increase recruitment into child and adolescent psychiatry and expand access to services for these youth and their families. The AACAP is working with Congress to enact legislation that will create a loan forgiveness program for child and adolescent psychiatry trainees and restore federal support for training programs through federal enactment of the Child Health Care Crisis Relief Act.
- Summary of the Child Health Care Crisis Relief Act
- AACAP's Brochure on the Shortage of Children's Mental Health Professionals
- Workforce Shortage Fact Sheet
- Letter of Support to Senator Jeff Bingaman and Representative Patrick Kennedy for the Child Health Care Crisis Relief Act
- Child Health Chare Crisis Relief Act Fact Sheet
- Improving Mental Health Services in Primary Care: Reducing Administrative and Financial Barriers to Access and Collaboration
- AACAP Statement for the Record: Senate Committee on Finance on Workforce Issues in Health Care Reform March 12, 2009: Assessing the Present and Preparing for the Future
- Access to Treatment for Children and Adolescents with Mental Illnesses
- The Continuing Shortage of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists
- JAACAP - Sep 2006 - State CAP Shortage Maps - University of Texas
- Contact your legislators on this issue
Mental Health Parity
With the passage of The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act on October 3 2008, many more Americans will have the right to non-discriminatory mental health coverage, including 82 million individuals enrolled in self-funded plans (regulated under ERISA). This law ends health insurance benefits discrimination between mental health/substance use disorders and medical/surgical benefits for group health plans with more than 50 employees. The law becomes effective on January 1st, 2010 and between now and then, the regulations to the law will be written by the Department of Health and Human Services. AACAP will be actively involved in the development of the regulations.
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
Last Congress, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee introduced legislation to extend the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) (S. 3155), which authorizes key programs designed to protect young people, keep them out of trouble, and provide necessary resources and programs to provide children with every opportunity to become productive adult members of society. The JJDPA authorizes a series of competitive grant programs through the Department of Justice to help reduce crime among youths and recidivism in the juvenile justice system.
The proposed legislation would increase federal funding for prevention, intervention and treatment programs designed to reduce incidence of juvenile crime. The bill strikes a balance between providing federal support and guidance to state programs and respecting the individual criminal justice policies of states. The bill urges states to make key improvements to juvenile justice systems, and addresses concerns about pretrial detention of youths in adult jails and about detention of children who commit status offenses like truancy by establishing meaningful guidelines, procedural protections, and restrictions. The legislation also prioritizes and funds mental health and drug treatment for juvenile offenders, and encourages states to further address the overrepresentation of minorities in the juvenile justice system. Finally, the bill supports the efforts of states that attempt to comply with the core requirements of the JJDPA by making funds available through improvement grants to help bring states into compliance with the Act. On July 31, 2008, the bill was reported favorably out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
AACAP's Letter of Support for the JJDPA
Stop Child Abuse in Residential Treatment Programs for Teens
Representative George Miller (D-CA) introduced the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Treatment Programs for Teens Act of 2009 (H.R. 911) to better regulate boot camps and other alternative placement facilities. The legislation is a response to numerous studies documenting the ineffectiveness of these programs and, in several instances, tragic deaths as a result of child abuse and neglect as reported by the Government Accountability Office in October 2007. GAO has issued a new report that was the basis of this hearing. The report examined selected cases of abuse, death, and deceptive marketing. H.R.911 would require programs to disclose to parents the qualifications and responsibilities of all current staff members and to notify parents of substantiated reports of child abuse or violations of health and safety laws. The bill includes an increase in authorized funding for the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act from $120 million to $200 million for states to institute these initiatives, and a separate authorization of $50 million for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish inspections and regulations. On February 23 the bill passed the house by a 295-102 margin. It has been reffered to the Senate HELP Committee.
- Full Text of HR 911
- AACAP Member Christopher Bellonci, M.D. testified before the House Education and Labor Committee about this bill. Click here to read his testimony.
Improving Patient Safety
Child and adolescent psychiatrists and families need access to all clinical trial data on the safety and effectiveness of the medications prescribed to children and adolescents with mental illnesses. The AACAP is working to ensure passage of legislation that will create a clinical trials registry so that physicians, patients and families will have access to all research data about medications through federal enactment of The Fair Access to Clinical Trials Act, S. 467.
- Full Text of S. 467
- Fair Access to Clinical Trials (FACT) Act, S. 467
- Contact your legislators on this issue
Ending Child Custody Relinquishment
The AACAP is working to end the tragedy that many families face of having to relinquish custody of their children in order to access mental health treatment through federal enactment of The Keeping Families Together Act, H.R. 687/S. 382.
Increasing Pediatric Research
The AACAP is pushing for funding increases for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) to increase research into children and adolescent disorders, including substance use, and to ensure the availability of improved treatment options.
- Contact your legislators on this issue
Expanding Community-based Systems of Care
The AACAP is working to support local, state and federal initiatives to expand community-based systems of care, including for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service’s Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families program.
- Contact your legislators on this issue
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