Kimberly Moran: The desperate need for mental health services for kids
This year’s increased attention to Children’s Mental Health Week and the release of three important reports focusing on the care of children and youth with mental illness is shining a bright light on the desperate need for investment in children’s mental health. The just released Canadian Institute for Health Information’s (CIHI) groundbreaking report on Care for Children and Youth with Mental Health Disorders reveals that rates of emergency department (ED) visits and inpatient hospitalizations for children and youth with mental health disorders has risen by 45 per cent and 37 per cent respectively since 2006 – a time during which hospitalization rates for other issues have declined by 13 per cent.
