Families should not be broken up so sick children can get treatment.

We’re not breaking new ground with this idea. It’s so obvious. But, unfortunately, the country’s mental health care system forces some parents into an impossible decision: Give up custody or the child will be denied appropriate treatment.

Sen. Susan Collins is doing something about this abhorrent situation. She plans in September to introduce the Keeping Families Together Act, a $55-million federal grant program that has bipartisan support.

The legislation would allow states to expand public health insurance programs to include mental health treatment; provide for outreach and public education programs; help states track the number of kids who enter state custody only to obtain treatment; and provide family advocacy services.

Collins asked the General Accounting Office, which does research for Congress, to investigate how bad this problem is. The numbers are surprising. In 2001, almost 13,000 families in 19 states were identified as relinquishing custody of a child so he or she could receive mental health care. The actual numbers are likely much larger. Several states don’t do a good job of tracking such children and 32 states did not provide data for the study.

The study also found a lack of coordination between local, state and federal agencies that provide mental health services, which makes it difficult for families to find resources that do exist. Collins’ legislation would create a task force that would break down many of the barriers to service and get the various agencies in the child welfare and juvenile justice system talking.

Collins also is co-sponsoring the Mental Health Parity Act, which would require insurance companies to cover mental illness in the same way they cover other claims. And the senator is backing the Family Opportunity Act and the Child Healthcare Crisis Relief Act. This legislation allows states to set up a more liberal coverage system with monthly premiums for middle income families and provide incentives to recruit and train child mental health professionals.

During two congressional hearings in July, witness after witness told the Committee on Governmental Affairs, which Collins chairs, of the holes in the current system that families fall through. In some cases, parents felt compelled to fabricate tales of abuse or neglect so their child would be placed in state custody and receive the expensive care needed. Lose a child to the state or lose a child to the ravages of severe depression or schizophrenia. That’s a disgrace.

Too long, this country has treated mental illness as something to be ashamed of, to hide from. Our health care system reflects this prejudice. Mental illness is no less real and no less debilitating than physical illness.

We support Collins’ efforts to address these tragic shortcomings and her efforts to keep families together. Other members of Congress and the president should as well.


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