Report: Improvements in behavioral health care needed for children and older adults

By Michelle Wirth

Atlanta, GA – A preliminary report released by the Carter Center says a mental health settlement reached last year between the state and the U.S. Department of Justice is a good start. However, the report says more is needed to improve behavioral health care in the state. The report was discussed during a town hall meeting held at the Carter Center Friday.

Under the settlement, 9,000 developmentally disabled and mentally ill patients will be moved out of state psychiatric hospitals. They will instead receive services in their own communities. That process is already underway and Carter Center Mental Health program director Doctor Thom Bornemann says so far the state has shown a good faith effort to meet the obligations of the settlement. However, Bornemann says the settlement does not address children or older adults.

"You can't just take one isolated slice of a complex system like a mental health system and think you've got and think you've got it fixed, so it's really important that we took a comprehensive view, and that's what we did."

To help children who are struggling with behavioral health issues the report recommends: more collaboration among agencies, revisions to the state's juvenile justice code and having on-site behavioral health care available in schools. In terms of older adults the reports says, greater identification, early intervention and follow-up treatment is needed.