A Public Health Approach to Children's Mental Health Services: Possible Solutions to Current Service Inadequacies

The Child-Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) system confronts clinically complex youth with high rates of behavior problems, diverse mental health disorders, substance abuse, criminal behavior, and other "at risk" behaviors (e.g. school truancy, family conflict, etc.). Because of the complexity of the youth, the system has serious difficulties helping them to successfully overcome the myriad of problems they confront. This group proposes that a public health approach would help solve many of the inadequacies of the current system.