Welcome to the CATCH Services working group blog. This is where those of us interested in transforming children’s mental health across the country can share notes, ideas, co-conspire for change, and keep the ball rolling.
What is CATCH? Collaborative Approaches To Children’s Health has been an idea in the hearts and minds of many of us for a long time. But more recently, an amazing group of revolutionaries, activists, inspired thinkers, and people who care, formed around the purpose of transforming the child health/mental health care system across the US. Those of us participating in CATCH have come to the sad but firm conclusion that our current mental health system for children is broken and cannot be fixed by small, iterative changes in the status quo. Why broken? Because most children with mental health needs cannot get care, given the way that our health care services are currently organized, financed, and reimbursed, and the incorrect values underpinning our current system. Current system values are to minimize costs, but with no accountability for quality, outcomes, or scientific credibility for the services delivered. The other value, an unintended consequence, is that only well-to-do folks who can pay for care out-0f-pocket can get quality care. But even that expensive care is haphazard and subject to chance, as it depends upon the consumer knowing what quality care is and where to find it.
If you are of similar mind, and want to contribute to this dialogue, have at it. We’ll need all the help we can get.
Peter S. Jensen, MD, President & CEO, The REACH Institute (REsource for Advancing Children’s Health).
Posted by The REACH Institute 