Child and Youth Mental Health Plan

• Child and Youth Mental Health Plan Overview
• Executive Summary
• Appendices

See also:

• News Release
• Backgrounder
• Factsheet

Child and Youth Mental Health Plan Overview

Government in February 2003 approved a first for Canada, the B.C. Child and Youth Mental Health Plan. The Plan was developed through consultation with clients and families, service providers and partners, and informed by best available research and the work of the Ministry of Children and Family Development and Ministry of Health Services Joint Working Group. This plan reflects the long-term commitment of the ministry to improving the resources and outcomes for children's mental health in British Columbia. Regional Governance Authorities and communities will play a critical role in ensuring the commitment to the mental health of children and youth in BC is carried out.

The Plan details coordinated approaches on several levels over the next 5 years including:

• timely and effective treatment and support services for children with serious mental illness
• programs to reduce risk by preventing and reducing the effects of mental illness
• building community and family capacity to prevent and/or overcome the negative impacts of mental illness in children and youth
• better systems to coordinate services, monitor outcomes, and ensure public accountability for policies and programs.

Child and Youth Mental Health Plan
February 2003

View the Mental Health Plan final report [1.35 MB]

Executive Summary

Children are British Columbia’s most important investment in the future. Families and communities share the responsibility to ensure that children in British Columbia have access to the resources that promote health, well-being and optimal human development. It is our common goal – and in our common interest – to see that children thrive.

Despite everyone’s best efforts, however, some children develop serious health problems. Mental illnesses now constitute the most important group of health problems that children suffer – superceding all other health problems in terms of the number of children affected and the degree of impairment caused. Currently, one in seven (more than 140,000) children in British Columbia are estimated to have a mental illness serious enough to cause significant distress and impair their development and functioning at home, at school, and in the community. The majority of these children (and their families) do not receive the services they need, with the result that impairments often continue, causing increased suffering and affecting productivity and functioning in adulthood.

Children’s mental health programs and services have evolved in British Columbia as a network of diverse services provided by a variety of practitioners working in community, hospital, and residential care settings. While good efforts have been made over the years to improve services, serious concerns remain. Services have been poorly coordinated and insufficient to meet the needs of British Columbia’s children and families. Further, too little attention has been paid to addressing the mental health and developmental needs of children earlier, before the emergence of a severe impairment that could disable a child for life.

The Ministry of Children and Family Development, supported by the Ministry of Health Services, has embarked on a children’s mental health planning process in order to address these concerns. As part of this process, a series of consultations were held with community, family and practitioner groups, and a review of the relevant research literature was conducted. The plan outlined here reflects a long-term commitment to improving the resources and outcomes for children’s mental health in British Columbia.

To better meet the mental health needs of children new approaches and additional resources are urgently needed. Because the challenge is too large to be met solely by increased clinical services, coordinated approaches are required on several different levels. First, more timely and effective treatment and support services are needed for children with serious mental illness. Second, programs are needed to reduce risk and prevent and mitigate the effects of mental illness. Third, new efforts are needed to improve the capacities of families and communities to prevent and/or overcome the harmful impact of mental illness in children. Finally, better systems are needed to coordinate services, monitor outcomes, and ensure public accountability for policies and programs. The long-term goal is to improve mental health outcomes for all children in British Columbia.

Appendices

Prevalence of Mental Disorders in Children and Youth	[127 MB]
Population Health and Clinical Service Considerations	[350 MB]
Draft Practice Parameters	[246MB]
Consultation Process and Summary of Results	[109 MB]
Joint Ministry Working Group Report	[51 MB]
MCFD Strategic Shifts	[17 MB]
Childrens Mental Health Network Chart	[15 MB]
Early Psychosis Intervention	[27 MB]