Newsroom

Family caregivers need support navigating mental health for children and adolescents

3月 11, 2022

When it comes to child and adolescent mental health, the line between typical developmental behaviors and those that require professional help can be difficult to discern—even in the best of times. What should family caregivers be aware of to help them provide the right support and treatment for their child with mental health issues? Acknowledging children’s mental health as an issue is an important first step. READ MORE > Consider that 50 percent of all lifetime mental illness develops by age 14. According to the Surgeon General’s 2021 advisory on youth mental health, up to 1 in 5 children ages 3 to 17 struggled with a reported mental, emotional, developmental […]

Jacob’s crisis story

3月 11, 2022

Jacob may not be an actual 14-year-old Idahoan. But his story illustrates how our 988 crisis care system can help a family get the behavioral health support and care they need in at a stressful time.

The Jeff D. settlement: A big win for Idaho’s behavioral health landscape

3月 10, 2022

It started in 1980 with a class-action lawsuit filed in Idaho against  the governor of Idaho, the Department of Health and Welfare (DHW), the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections (IDJC), and Idaho State Department of Education for failing to meet the mental health needs of youths determined to be severly emotionally disturbed (SED). The youths were initially housed with adults at the State Hospital South (SHS), then committed under the Youth Rehabilitation Act for criminal behavior. The findings were clear: Idaho lacked both the appropriate treatment services and a lack of community-based mental health services. However, it took until 2015 for all parties to come to terms. Once signed, the […]

Mental Health Intervention vs. Incarceration

2月 18, 2022

Today’s prison system finds a disproportionate amount of people with mental health challenges.Recent figures indicate that 37% of adult prisoners have a mental illness.1 Additionally, 65% of prisoners and inmates have a primary or comorbid substance use disorder (SUD).2 The system is not set up to address the mental health needs of inmates or provide potentially life-saving treatment. This is why identifying individuals with mental health challenges or SUD before they become involved in the justice system is the first step to diverting them to community-based care. Early identification and intervention are especially important for justice-involved minors since 65-75% of the two million children arrested each year in the United […]

Responding to crises: it starts with a robust system of best practices and measurable standards

2月 8, 2022

Creating an effective crisis response center involves adequate access to the appropriate prevention and treatment services in the community — and developing a collaborative cross-systems coordination. This will ensure people with mental illness or substance abuse will be served more effectively and efficiently. Public safety will improve and costs will be reduced.

Responding properly: it takes years of knowledge and insight into human needs

2月 8, 2022

Having the right people respond to a given crisis sounds simple, but this is where many Behavioral Health Crisis Centers fail. Every situation is unique, and when not handled properly, it can add stress to emergency personnel and undue pressure on the police department. Carelon Behavioral Health has over 35 years of experience to prevent this from happening.