DeLauro, Harkin, Roybal-Allard Release GAO Report on Children’s Mental Health Care

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Representative Rosa DeLauro(CT-3), and Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40) announced the releaseof a new Government Accountability Office reportthey requested to examine the effects of psychotropic drugs on the long-termdevelopment and health of children in the foster care system.

"Protecting vulnerable children is our moral imperative. We must ensure thatmental health care services for these kids are accessible, appropriate, andeffective. I am concerned about the GAO's finding about the high rate ofprescriptions for psychotropic drugs– especially for children in the fostercare system, while access to therapy and counseling is still inadequate. I willcontinue to work to advance children's mental health research and services, sothat our kids can receive safe and appropriate care and treatment," said Harkin,who is the Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and PensionsCommittee.

"Clearly we must do a better job ensuring that all children have access tocomprehensive mental health care. The needs of kids in Medicaid andfoster care are every bit as urgent as their peers and we cannot allow them tofall through the cracks. And I find it troubling that there is not eventhe necessary data to evaluate some of the important questions GAO is trying toanswer. Congress must do better and I will continue to work with mycolleagues to make sure we are addressing the health concerns of all ourchildren," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro.

"I commend the GAO for their responsive and insightful report on thisimportant issue of psychotropic drug use among youth in our foster care system.It is critical that we recognize that the mental health needs of children areuniquely different from adults, and that we ensure that our most vulnerablechildren are not lost in the cracks of an underfunded mental health caresystem. All children deserve to have access to the full range of appropriateinterventions to address their mental health concerns," said Rep. LucilleRoybal-Allard.

The findings of the GAOreport include:

• Eighteen percent of foster children were taking psychotropic medications – including 48 percent of foster children who lived in group homes or residential treatment centers – as compared to 6.2 percent of non-institutionalized children in Medicaid nationwide and 4.8 percent of privately insured children.
• Thirty percent of foster children who may have needed mental health services did not receive them in the previous 12 months – and outside of foster care most children whose emotions or behavior indicated a potential need for a mental health service did not receive any services within the same year.
• Many children who took psychotropic medication did not receive other mental health services (such as psychosocial therapy or counseling), despite the fact that experts find that medication alone is rarely adequate treatment for children with complex mental health needs.
• GAO recommended in 2011 that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) identify options for collecting data from state Medicaid programs about whether children in Medicaid receive the services for which they are referred. Findings in this report underscore the continued importance of CMS's monitoring of children's receipt of mental health services and the need for continued research in this area.

HHS's National Institutes ofHealth spent an estimated $1.2 billion on over 1,200 children's mental healthresearch projects during fiscal years 2008 through 2011. Most of the funding--$956million--was awarded by the National Institute of Mental Health, with moreresearch projects studying psychosocial therapies than psychotropicmedications. Other HHS agencies spent about $16 million combined on children'smental health research during this period.