The Iowa Mental Health and Planning Council

When it comes to Mental Health, Iowa leaves kids behind

Currently there is no funding stream or point of accountability for children’s mental health in Iowa

  • There are no core mental health services for Iowans under 18.
  • Children are not covered by the Mental Health Regions.
  • The Mental Health Tax Levy does not cover children.

This is not only wrong, it’s foolish.

  • Half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14 and 75% by age 24.
  • Treatment of mental illness reduces disability, leads to recovery and resilience and is most effective during the brains development from birth to age 26.
  • The average delay between symptoms and intervention is 8-10 years.1But early Intervention reduces life-long disability, increases resiliency, prevents drug abuse,incarceration, unemployment, and homelessness, which have high financial and human costs to our state.

Vision:

Iowa will immediately start building a children’s mental health system that:

  • Is multi-tiered, consisting of a full array of services from prevention to complex needs and crisis services
  • Has a dedicated and sustainable funding stream,point of accountability, and oversight
  • Ensuresaccess to core services
  • regardless of age
  • regardless of Medicaid or insurance status
  • regardless of location in Iowa
  • Includes schools and communities in efforts to improve mental wellness,social inclusion, access to academic and employment opportunities, and resiliency development in children with or at risk for Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED).

Legislative Priorities for 2018:

  1. Stop forgetting kids!
  • Codify core mental health services for children (like they are for adults) and include kids in new complex needs services. If kids are not written in, they are written off!
  1. Stop the bleeding: Stop cutting the very few children’s resources that exist:
  • Do not allow MCO’s toreduce PIH services
  • Do not cut funding for the few Systems of Care in Iowa
  • Stop cutting Autism and Medicaid Medically Needy programs
  • Protect the Children’s Mental Health Waiver fund and continue to reduce waiting lists
  1. Take Action: Immediately begin building the children’s system, starting with statewide crisis services this year and expanding to a full system each year.
  2. Work with Schools:Require children’s mental health training for all new teachers and at least two hours annually for all current teachers.