The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the serious and growing mental health and substance use disorder crisis gripping children and youth in the United States. The situation is particularly serious for young people who are stuck “boarding” in emergency departments for days or weeks, cycling in and out of psychiatric hospitals, contemplating and sometimes attempting or completing suicide, and struggling to remain in school or to find and keep a job.

In a new webinar, Manatt Health will lead an interactive panel of innovators driving change—including state officials, youth advocates with lived experience and leading clinicians—focusing on ways to respond effectively to the crisis. The session will share actionable strategies and concrete examples of states making progress on improving care for young people living with complex behavioral health conditions. 

Key questions the program will answer include:

• What services and supports do young people living with complex behavioral health conditions need? Are states covering the “right things” that will make a difference according to young people, families and clinicians?
• How can states ensure that families and young people are partners in the policymaking process and in driving care and treatment decisions?
• What are the most effective ways to respond to the emergency department boarding crisis?
• How can states move “upstream” to focus on prevention and early intervention?
• What is the role of Medicaid and CHIP in responding to the crisis? How can they most effectively be leveraged? 

Date and Time:

Wednesday, November 8
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. ET

Moderator:

Jocelyn Guyer, Senior Managing Director, Manatt Health

Speakers:

• Sheamekah Williams, President, Evolution Foundation
• Arc Telos Saint Amour (Tay), Executive Director, Youth MOVE National
• Kristine Herman, Bureau Chief of Behavioral Health, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services
• Ron-Li Liaw, Mental Health In-Chief, Children’s Hospital Colorado

If you would like to receive an audio transcript of this webinar due to accessibility issues, please email us at webinars@manatt.com.

This program does not constitute legal advice, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship. Views expressed by presenters are strictly their own and should not be construed to be the views of Manatt or attributed to Manatt.