Mental Health Prevention Programs: a Popular but Inadequately Funded Concept

Over the past 30 years, some major advances have been designed, developed, tested and have had their efficacy tested, researched and documented in the area of prevention pertaining to children by which the likelihood of them developing significant school adjustment problems or disabling mental health conditions can be successfully prevented. While politicians often speak of the value and need for such preventative activities, they are the programs most vulnerable to cutting at times of State budget crises and are amongst the most difficult to attain funding for in the first place. The logic of this seemingly hypocritical situation is not readily apparent - but the general ubiquitousness of the phenomenon is a national disgrace.

The cost of most well-designed prevention programs is quite minimal. There are well researched and proven interventions (like California's Early Mental Health Intervention Program - formerly, the Primary Prevention Program) that for a cost of only several dollars per week per child, actually diminished the development of school adjustment, behavior and mental health problems in well over 75% of the primary grade children seen in it. The costs involved in not providing these services are huge. One year in an intensive residential mental health program for a single youngster can cost $50,000. or more. That immense cost is often, but not in every instance, shared by two or three different public funding sources.

One child placed in a self-contained Special Day Class can cost a school district many thousands of dollars a year. Prevention is cheap and saves, quite literally, millions of dollars a year. Even a child who winds up needing weekly individual therapy can run up a cost of $2 -$3,000. per year. The cost of incarcerating one youth for one year is, as basic as the conditions and services tend to be - many, many thousands of dollars. Prevention is a tremendous value. It is the only intervention that is known to save money. However, the little that it costs to provide must be allocated and spent or the real savings can never be achieved.