Help for Oregon's mentally ill children

statesmanjournal.com reports:
Gov. Ted Kulongoski wants Oregon children to have better access to mental-health services.

To make that happen, the governor on Tuesday signed an executive order establishing the Children's Wraparound Steering Committee to oversee the development of an integrated care system for youths with mental illnesses and their families.

"The issue of mental-health care for Oregon children has been long overlooked," Kulongoski said. "The time has come to develop an integrated system of care for these children."

Kulongoski signed the order surrounded by young Oregonians and their families whose lives have been adversely affected by mental-health issues.

It is estimated that more than 43,000 children in Oregon have mental illnesses, according to census data.

The governor also addressed the need to integrate and coordinate services that help address developmental and behavioral disorders in youths, saying they and their families often need services from multiple child-serving agencies.

The shared agenda is intended to break down communication and collaboration barriers that often occur between youths, families, mental-health providers and service agencies and schools.

The newly created steering committee is charged with developing strategies aimed at improving cross-agency service coordination at the state and local levels to help provide better care for children, youth and their families.

Under the executive order, the committee must submit its plan to the governor by October.