May 6th marked the Fifth Anniversary of National Children’s Mental Health Day. Thanks to the efforts of more than a dozen staff members across the MHSA (Mental Health and Substance Abuse) Division of DSHS (Department of State Health Services), DSHS is pleased announce a new web presence dedicated to Children’s Mental Health in Texas: http://www.dshs. state.tx.us/mhsa/awareness/ childrensmhweek.shtm.

At the Institute of Rural Development we provide services to foster youth that age out of care through our IRD Foster Youth Transitional Center. Over the years we have assisted youth that age out of foster care with life skills that enable them to meet the challenges of life. Many youth at age eighteen, living at home, with parents, are not ready to live an independent and self efficient life. Imagine a foster youth at age eighteen leaving foster care and being challenged by countless variables for living a successful independent life. Most foster youth live in several homes by age eighteen, have many emotional problems, have not completed their high school education or have a poor academic record, do not have a workplace skill, and are in need of guidance and counseling.

Foster youth come from dysfunctional families and most are taken into foster care at an early age. While unification with family members and foster parents are the modes of placement for foster youth, many stay through age eighteen and then have to transition out of care. We at the Institute of Rural Development specialize in helping those youth that are transitioning out of care. Our goal is to provide these children with life skills that will enable them to become independent and fully functioning individuals in our society.

The cost for a youth staying at IRD for one year is approximately $8000. The cost for a youth to stay in prison for one year is approximately $100,000. Yet we are building many more prisons than we are transitional centers that can help youth become productive citizens.

Help youth by changing the mindset that the only alternative for crime is prison and that an investment in alternatives like transitional centers is an economic investment for the betterment of our society.

Facts About Children’s

Mental Health

Some facts about children’s mental health compiled by Mental Health America: www.mentalhealthamerica. net

General

Mental health problems affect one in every five young people at any given time. (Department of Health & Human Services)

An estimated two-thirds of all young people with mental health problems are not getting the help they need. (Department of Health & Human Services)

Studies indicate that 1 in 5 children and adolescents (20 percent) may have a diagnosable disorder. Estimates of the number of children who have mental disorders range from 7.7 million to 12.8 million. (Department of Health & Human Services)

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia affects one in every 100 to 200 adolescent girls and a much smaller number of boys. (Department of Health & Human Services)

Approximately 1% of adolescent girls develop anorexia nervosa. 1 in 10 cases lead to death from starvation, cardiac arrest, or suicide. (National Institute of Mental Health)

Anxiety Disorders

As many as 1 in 10 young people may have an anxiety disorder (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services).

Studies suggest that children or adolescents are more likely to have an anxiety disorder if their parents have anxiety disorders (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services). Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity

Disorder (ADHD)

30 percent - 40 percent of children diagnosed with ADHD have relatives with the same type of problem. (Clinical Pediatrics)

ADHD is the most common psychiatric condition affecting children, estimates in prevalence in childhood range from 5 - 10%. (Clinical Pediatrics)

As many as 50% of children with ADHD are never diagnosed. (Harvard Mental Health Letter)

Bipolar Disorder

(Manic-Depression)

Almost one-third of six to twelve year old children diagnosed with major depression will develop bipolar disorders within a few years. (Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)

Bulimia Nervosa

Reported rates of bulimia nervosa vary from one to three out of 100 young people. (Department of Health and Human Services)

Conduct Disorder

As many as 1 in 10 children and adolescents may have conduct disorder. (Department of Health and Human Services)

Depression

Recent studies show that, at any given time, as many as one in every 33 children may have clinical depression. The rate of depression among adolescents may be as high as one in eight. (Department of Health and Human Services)

Recent studies have shown that greater than 20% of adolescents in the general population have emotional problems and one-third of adolescents attending psychiatry clinics suffer from depression. (The Canadian Journal of CME)

Juvenile Justice

It is estimates that between 118,700 and 186,600 youths who are involved in the juvenile justice system have at least one mental disorder. (The National Coalition for the Mentally Ill in the Criminal Justice System)

According to a 1994 OJJDP study of juveniles’ response to health screenings conducted at the admission of juvenile facilities, 73 percent of juveniles reported having mental health problems and 57 percent reported having prior mental health treatment or hospitalization.

Of the 100,000 teenagers in juvenile detention, estimates indicate that 60 percent have behavioral, mental or emotional problems. (Department of Justice)

Learning Disorders

It is thought that anywhere from 15 - 20 % of children with ADHD have a condition known as a “Specific Learning Disability” - and perhaps 50% of children with learning disability have ADHD. (Hyperactivity and Attention Deficit Disorder in Children)

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is rare in children under 12, but occurs in about three out of every 1,000 adolescents. (Department of Health & Human Services)

Serious Emotional

Disturbances

Serious emotional disturbances affect 1 in every 10 young people at any given time. (Department of Health & Human Services)

Suicide

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 - 24 year olds (approx 5,000 young people) and the sixth leading cause of death for five - 15 year olds. (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)

The rate of suicide for this age group has nearly tripled since 1960, making it the third leading cause of death in adolescents and the second leading cause of death among college age youth. (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)

More teenagers and young adults died as a result of suicide in 1999 than cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, birth defects, stroke and chronic lung disease combined. (U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention)

For every older teen and young adult who takes his or her own life, 100-200 of their peers attempts suicide. Between 500,000 and 1 million young people attempt suicide each year. (American Association of Suicidology)

Additional Information & Resources

American Art Therapy Association http://www.arttherapy.org/ chmad.asp

List of resources and action guides for schools and families:

National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health http://www.ffcmh.org/

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families http://www.zerotothree.org/