Proposed Legislation for More Children's Health Professionals

New bill would provide additional educational funding for child and adolescent psychiatrists.

In response to a major shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists in the United States, the Child Health Care Crisis Relief Act, sponsored by Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), was reintroduced this week in the House of Representatives.

There are currently 74,181 child and adolescent psychiatrists practicing in the United States. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, about 20 percent of the 73 million children and adolescents in the U.S. have a mental disorder with at least a mild functional impairment, and would benefit from treatment.

A long training period and high costs of education often discourage physicians from pursuing child or adolescent psychiatry. This bill will offer additional sources of funding, including scholarships and grants, for children's mental health professionals, such as behavioral pediatricians, child and adolescent psychiatrists, child psychologists, school psychologists, school social workers, school counselors, psychiatric nurses, and marriage and family therapists.

Read more about the legislation.