Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
<br />Health Department to Present Mental Health <br />Priorities to County Commissioners <br />Posted by John Thomas | Feb 21, 2017 | Health | 0 <br />The Orange County Health Department will present its three priority areas for mental <br />health services in the county to the Board of County Commissioners at the board’s <br />meeting at seven o’clock Tuesday night. <br />These areas include: <br /> Restoring funding for mental health care from birth to age five <br /> Enhancing in-school services for all grade levels, including having one or more <br />mental therapists per school in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Orange <br />County Schools <br /> Educating the community on how to navigate access to mental health care <br />The health department identified these areas via a report completed in January that <br />analyzed the barriers to mental health in Orange County for those 25 years old or <br />younger. <br /> <br />“If we can intervene early, which is such an integral part of mental health treatment, <br />then we can prepare these kids for life once they grow up,” said Rebecca Crawford, <br />Director of Financial and Administrative Services for the health departm ent. <br /> <br />Crawford said the priority areas will help address what the health department found to <br />be community members’ primary barriers to mental health care—affordability and <br />accessibility. <br /> <br />The health department assessed those barriers through a report that featured more <br />than 150 interviews and surveys with those closely involved with mental health in <br />Orange County, including mental health service providers, law enforcement and early <br />education representatives. <br /> <br />After that data was gathered, the health department then held focus groups with these <br />constituents to identify the most pressing concerns.