Based on admission trends at the Mental Wellness Centre, the number of people that are mentally ill has been gradually increasing.
Idaho ranks 42nd out of the 50 states in access to mental health assistance. Between 2010 and 2014, 96 Idaho children with aged 18 and younger died by suicide, making it the nation’s second leading cause of death.
These children definitely need more help, and the state needs to learn how to deal with the mentally ill. More than 70 percent of children with a significant depressive episode never experience a mental health visit. One of every five Idaho children has sincerely reflected on suicide in the past 12 months.
Gov. Butch Otter approved an agreement last June designed to finally put in place a set of extensive mental health services for the children of Idaho.
The agreement is called Children’s Mental Health Reform, and it needs to be funded and put adequate resources in the budget by Gov. Otter and the Legislature to assure that the plan converts into reality.
This reform will deliver essential mental health services where children and families need them most, in their societies. Its purpose is to put the mentally ill children and their families at the center of the team and surround them with services.
These services will be performed by mental health providers who are used to dealing with the mentally ill. They will support parents in treating children and keeping them functioning adequately in their communities and anticipate crises.
This reform will then lessen costs to the state by limiting crisis hospitalizations or emergency room visits. It will also reduce the need for placement in residential therapy centers outside of the state and avoid placement in the juvenile justice system.
Mental illness is something that can happen to anyone. For some mentally ill people, it starts out with small signs which when left untreated advance into a much bigger issue. It became a serious matter and we ought to change the way we look at mentally ill people. Moreover, structures and practices must be rearranged to deal with this condition.
Making mental health care affordable for the mentally ill is the most significant step. It’s essential that insurance companies approach this situation to guarantee universal access to mental health facilities.
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