Information related to managed care, behavioral health, Medicare, sustainability, and other administrative issues

Child Abuse Prevention Treatment Act (CAPTA) Awaiting Final Conference Agreement

The Senate and House have both acted on reauthorization of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) by passing bills that largely mirror legislation adopted last year. Both versions are in a conference committee, where the two sides are resolving the few remaining differences. H.R. 14 and S. 342 both expand the type of services that can be funded with the basic state grants, although whether Congress will follow up with additional funding remains to be seen.

One issue that may still be in contention, and about which the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is concerned, is services to newborns. In cases in which infants are identified with fetal alcohol syndrome or the effects of drug exposure, the House bill would require hospitals to refer those infants to child protective services.

To view the complete article, visit the Children’s Monitor: A Public Policy Update online at http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/monitor0306.htm.

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Promising Approaches for Behavioral Health Services to Children and Adolescent and Their Families in the Child Welfare System

Since 1995, the Health Care Reform Tracking Project (HCRTP) has been tracking publicly financed managed care initiatives and their impact on children with mental health and substance abuse (i.e., behavioral health) disorders and their families. The HCRTP’s Promising Approaches Series highlights strategies, approaches, and features within publicly financed managed care systems that hold promise for effective service delivery for children and adolescents with behavioral health treatment needs and their families, particularly for children with serious and complex disorders.

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Managed Care and the Child Welfare System

This paper presents information to consider when designing public managed care to meet the behavioral health needs of children and families involved with the child welfare system. It also presents examples of promising approaches from four states and communities.

To view the complete paper, visit http://www.georgetown.edu/research/gucdc/cw2.pdf.

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Making Interagency Initiatives Work for Children and Families in the Child Welfare System

Some states and communities have made progress in providing behavioral health services to children and families touched by multiple service systems. This paper discusses promising approaches and special provisions in successful interagency initiatives that include child welfare systems in planning, funding, implementing, and evaluating the initiative to meet the behavioral health needs of children and families in the child welfare system; to address child welfare system policies, laws, and mandates; and to share resources and/or funds between or across child-serving systems to serve these children and families.

To view the complete paper, visit http://www.georgetown.edu/research/gucdc/cw3.pdf.

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Derailed: The Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track

This report from the Advancement Project looks at the use of law enforcement agencies and the juvenile justice system as a double jeopardy mechanism for students. It documents the derailing of students from an academic track in schools to a future in the juvenile justice system. The authors find that the creation of the schoolhouse to jailhouse track has damaged a generation of children, particularly children of color. In the first section, the authors explore the emergence of zero tolerance policies that have transitioned into the schoolhouse to jailhouse track. In the second section, they look at the pervasiveness of this tragedy, analyzing statistics from around the country to document the number of children criminalized in their schools. In the third section, the report takes an in-depth look at the Palm Beach County, Florida, Public Schools. In the final section, the authors present changes to the policies that they believe will keep children off the schoolhouse to jailhouse track. The authors believe that derailing a child from an academic track to a prison track is detrimental to the child, his or her family, and society as a whole. The criminalization of children by their school can leave them with no education and no future.

To view the complete report, visit http://www.advancementproject.org/Derailedtxt.pdf.

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House Passes Runaway and Homeless Youth Act

The House approved the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHY, H.R. 1925) on May 20, by a vote of 403 to 14. This legislation, which would reauthorize RHY for 5 years, would provide support for community-based initiatives reuniting runaway and homeless youth with their families or, when that is not possible, providing transitional services to prepare them for adulthood.

To view the complete article, visit the Children’s Monitor: A Public Policy Update online at http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/monitor0306.htm.

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IDEA Funding Debate Moves to Senate

On April 30, the House of Representatives passed, on a 251 to 171 vote, reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, P.L. 105-17). The law guarantees children with disabilities a free public education in the “least restrictive environment.”

The measure (H.R. 1350) would streamline some paperwork requirements for teachers, limit parents’ ability to take legal action against school districts, and prevent children from being mislabeled as special education students when they might have a problem with only one skill, such as reading. The debate now moves to the Senate, where controversy about funding is sure to get attention.

To view the complete article, visit the Children’s Monitor: A Public Policy Update online at http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/monitor0306.htm.

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Michigan’s Safe School Choice Policy

States are moving to meet the requirement of the No Child Left Behind Act that would allow students to transfer from “persistently dangerous” schools. Michigan has adopted the following criteria: schools where, for 3 consecutive years, more than 2.5 percent of pupils have been expelled for more than 10 consecutive days (for arson, physical assault, bomb threats, criminal sexual conduct, possession of a dangerous weapon) or at least five students enrolled in the school self-report that they have been victims of a violent crime at school.

To review the full text of the policy, visit
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/safeschoolchoicepolicy_63131_7.pdf.

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International Mental Health Survey Finds United States Has High Rate of Mental Illness, Low Rate of Treatment Compared With Other Countries

The United States has a higher prevalence and lower treatment rate of serious mental illness than a number of other developed countries, according to a study published in the May/June issue of the policy journal Health Affairs. Despite differences in treatment, researchers found remarkably similar proportions of the population with mental disorders (17 to 29 percent); early age of onset (mostly in childhood through the early adult years); high rates of chronic mental illness; and high levels of adverse effects on jobs, marriages, and other aspects of life.

To view complete article, visit http://www.hms.harvard.edu/news/releases/0503kessler.html.

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Suspending Disbelief: Moving Beyond Punishment to Promote Effective Interventions for Children With Mental or Emotional Disorders

Schools that have proactively addressed the reasons behind problem behavior of students with disabilities, as required by federal special education law, have been “rewarded...with fewer behavior problems and an atmosphere of learning instead of constant power struggles,” according to a new report by the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. In this report, the national advocacy group summarizes administrative and judicial decisions, finding that many other school districts have balked at the requirement, leaving students with disabilities in “a downward spiral of escalating punishments.”

To view a complete summary of the report, visit http://www.bazelon.org/newsroom/5-16-03suspendingdisbelief.htm.