In the weeks since the Newtown school massacre by mentally
disturbed shooter Adam Lanza, the state of mental health care in
America has come under renewed scrutiny. For decades, public
investment in mental health care has dwindled. In the past few
years alone, federal and state support has plummeted by billions
of dollars, leaving many people with limited treatment options
or none at all. Even the mental health coverage provided by
private insurers is often insufficient. In its most recent
report, the National Alliance on Mental Illness gave North
Carolina – and the United States as a whole – a “D” grade for
its delivery of mental health services. Not one state earned an
“A” and just a handful got a “B.” Meanwhile, 10 to 15 percent of
all American children – at every point on the socioeconomic
spectrum – suffer from a significant mental disorder. In many
cases, helpful treatments do exist. But less than 25 percent of
children will ever access those services. Of those, even fewer
will be treated effectively. T