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Mental Health In Children

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Children’s Mental Health
A recent report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ([CDC], 2013) provides one of the most comprehensive reviews of child mental health in the United States. Specifically, the report provides an overview of mental health surveillance in the US between 2005 and 2011, uncovering some shocking facts about the issue and how it is currently addressed. For instance, data provided by the CDC indicates that each year between 13 and 20 percent of children and adolescents are diagnosed with some type of mental health problem (“Mental health,” 2013). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common disorder diagnosed in children between the ages of three and 17-years-of-age (6.8 percent) …show more content…
Children’s mental health services exist in a chaotic state which will only continue to be exacerbated by an ever increasing influx of children and adolescents who require care. With this in mind, there is an impetus to examine critical issues such as an overview of the problem, the landscape of the problem, options for addressing the problem, and recommendations for improvement. Using this as a foundation for research the current investigation addresses these critical issues in an effort to provide practical suggestions for changing the status quo when it comes to children’s mental …show more content…
While these issues have direct implications for the child and family, the reality is that these issues also have far-reaching implications for society as well (Shin, 2004). In particular, children with mental health issues whose developmental trajectories are adversely impacted will continue to utilize valuable resources while failing to adequately contribute to the betterment and improvement of society (Shin, 2004). Consider the child with ADHD who drops out of school and becomes involved in the criminal justice system at an early age. Over time, this child will grow into adulthood and may be unable to secure gainful employment or may be incarcerated. These outcomes will require society to pay for the care of this individual over the

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