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CQ HEALTHBEAT NEWS
Feb. 17, 2009 - 4:57 p.m.

Report: Feds Need To Do More To Diagnose and Treat Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Problems in Youth
By Daniela Feldman, CQ Staff

Mental, emotional and behavioral disorders in young people cost the nation approximately $247 billion annually with an estimated 14 to 20 percent of youths experiencing the conditions, which include depression, anxiety and substance abuse, according to a new report.  

First symptoms of the conditions occur two to four years before the onset of a full-blown disorder "creating a window of opportunity when preventative programs might make a difference," according to the report from the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine.  

The document calls on the White House to create an entity that would coordinate agency initiatives, set public goals for prevention and provide needed research and funding to achieve them. The report also calls for the departments of Health and Human Services, Education and Justice to be accountable for providing resources for youth to educate and prevent them from disorders.  

"It is no longer accurate to argue that these disorders can never be prevented. Many can," Kenneth E. Warner, committee chairman and dean of the University of Michigan, School of Public Health, said in a statement. "The nation is well-positioned to equip young people with the skills and habits needed to live healthy, happy and productive lives in caring relationships. But we need to develop the systems to deliver effective prevention programs to a far wider group of children and adolescents."  

David L. Shern, president and CEO of advocacy group Mental Health America, said the report was "spot-on with a lot of issues," including its conclusion that mental health disorders can be diagnosed in childhood and adolescence rather than waiting until young adulthood. "On average, we don't get services to kids who have diagnoses for 10 years, so there's this 10 year latency between the presentation of the problem and people receiving care."  

The report evaluates various intervention, prevention, education and welfare programs for at-risk youth and recommends the federal government prioritize the prevention of mental, emotional and behavior disorders for the nation's young people.  

Some intervention and prevention programs accessed by the report include school, primary care and community programs, as well as specific welfare and support programs. Intervention programs also aim to remove children from harmful situations which may put them at a greater risk for substance abuse or mental illness.