As part of professional practice, it is imperative that child and adolescent psychiatrists engage federal and state legislators on the important issues that directly address the needs of children with mental illness. AACAP provides resources for members to use as they communicate with policymakers about issues related to child and adolescent psychiatry and children's mental health.

Choose a Topic

Children at the Border

• AACAP Resource Library on Youth at the Border

Children's Mental Health

• AACAP and APA Weigh-In with the DEA on Ongoing Stimulant Medication Shortages (March 24, 2023)
• Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2023 and Mental Health Reform
• AACAP Letter to Congress on specific year-end priorities (December 8, 2022)
• Pediatricians, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists and Children’s Hospitals Declare National Emergency in Children's Mental Health
  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) Coalition Letter to Congress.  AAP-AACAP-CHA Declaration of a National Emergency in Child and Adolescent Mental Health  (November 14, 2022)
  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) Coalition Letter to the President.  AAP-AACAP-CHA Declaration of a National Emergency in Child and Adolescent Mental Health – One Year Later (October 13, 2022)
  • AACAP, AAP, and CHA call on policymakers at all levels of government to act swiftly to address mental health crisis (October 19, 2021)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), and Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) Statement for the Record U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (February 1, 2022) 
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) Statement for the Record U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (February 8, 2022) 
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Coalition Statement for the Record U.S. Senate Committee on Finance Protecting Youth Mental Health: Part I-An Advisory and Call to Action (February 8, 2022)
• AACAP Comments to Senate Finance Committee on Improving Access to Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents
• Pediatricians, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists and Children’s Hospitals Declare National Emergency in Children's Mental Health
• AACAP Fact Sheet: Improving Access to Mental Health: Reducing Mental Health Stigma

Take action now. Tell your state and federal lawmakers about the national children’s mental health emergency.

Collaboration with Primary Care
Safe and effective mental and physical health care requires collaboration and communication between child and adolescent psychiatrists and other medical professionals. AACAP provides materials to assist clinicians and policy makers interested in developing collaborative care models. Click here to learn more.

• AACAP, Along with Seventeen Organizations, Express Support for the Collaborate in an Orderly and Cohesive Manner (COCM) Act Which Would Bolster Innovative Model of Provision of Mental Health Care

Firearms

• AACAP Advocacy Toolkit: Counseling Patients about Firearms (member log-in required)
• AACAP Facts for Families: Children and Firearms
• Policy Statement: Children and Guns (updated June 2016)
• Children's Mental Health Fact Sheet: Improving Lives, Avoiding Tragedies
• Sample letter to legislators

Health Care Reform

• How the Healthcare Reform Law Impacts Your Practice and Training Programs
• How the Healthcare Reform Law Impacts Your Patients
• Implementation Timeline for the Healthcare Reform Law
• ACOS and CAPS Preparing for the impact of Health Care Reform
• State Health Insurance Exchange Toolkit
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • State Chart
  • Resource List
  • State Insurance Department Leaders

Health Information Technology

• 21st Century Cures Act Introduction and FAQs for Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists
• AACAP’s HIT Resources

Juvenile Justice

• Health Group Statement of Support for Instituting a Minimum Age of Jurisdiction for Juvenile Justice Involvement
• JAACAP Commentary on creating a national minimum age for juvenile justice jurisdiction Addressing Child Mental Health by Creating a National Minimum Age for Juvenile Justice Jurisdiction - Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (jaacap.org).
• National Juvenile Justice Network toolkit for raising the minimum age of jurisdiction
• National Governor's Association brief on Age Boundaries in Juvenile Justice Systems that recognizes raising the minimum age as an emerging trend (Aug 2021)
• AACAP Policy Statement: Jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court System
• AACAP Policy Statement on Transgender Youth in Juvenile Justice and other Correctional Systems
• AACAP Policy Statement on Mandatory Shackling in Juvenile Court Systems
• AACAP Policy Statement on Direct File of Juveniles
• AACAP Policy Statement: Interviewing and Interrogating Juvenile Suspects
• AACAP Policy Statement: Solitary Confinement of Juvenile Offenders
• AACAP Policy Statement: Juvenile Life Without Parole: Review of Sentences
• AACAP Policy Statement: Life Without Parole for Juvenile Offenders
• Recommendations for Juvenile Justice Reform

LGBTQ Issues

• AACAP Statement Opposing Actions in Texas Threatening the Health, Mental Health and Well-Being of Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth and Their Families (March 1, 2022)
• AACAP Statement Responding to Efforts to Ban Evidence-Based Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth
• Medical societies respond to state bills harming transgender youth:
• American Academy of Pediatrics speaks out against bills harming transgender youth
• Endocrine Society urges policymakers to follow science on transgender care and see transgender advocacy at the state level
• Pediatric Endocrine Society opposes bills that harm transgender youth
• Major Health, Education, and Child Welfare Organizations Oppose Anti-LGBTQ State-Based Legislation  (Updated February 2022)
• Freedom for All 2021 Legislative Tracker
• ACLU LGBTQ Legislative Tracker
• AACAP Policy Statement: Conversion Therapy
• Conversion Therapy Issue Brief
• Prohibiting Gender-Affirming Medical Care for Youth
  UCLA Williams Institute finds 45,000 youth stand to lose gender-affirming care in Arkansas and the nine state with active legislation banning such care at the time of writing (April 2021). 

Marijuana Legalization

• AACAP Policy Statement: Marijuana Legalization
• AACAP Policy Statement: Use of Medical Marijuana in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder for Core Autism Symptoms
• U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain

Mental Health Parity

• AACAP's Mental Health Parity Toolkit
• See also Medical Necessity Criteria

Mental Health Reform

• H.R. 34 - The 21st Century Cures Act: Summary and How It Impacts CAPs

Medical Necessity Criteria

Prevention and Early Intervention

• AACAP Fact Sheet: Cost Effectiveness of Prevention and Early Intervention
• AACAP Policy Statement: Mental Health Screening in Primary Care

Prior Authorization

• Prior Authorization Reform Resources - From the American Medical Association, including current state law summaries, model legislation, and survey data on the burden of prior authorization.
• Prior Authorization and Utilization Management Reform Principles - AACAP, and a workgroup of 16 state and national organizations developed best practices for prior authorization and other utilization management requirements. This document was co-signed by numerous other organizations, including regional organizations of child and adolescent psychiatry.
• AACAP Policy Statement: Prior Authorization for Psychopharmacology

Psychotropic Medications and Children

• Talking Points on Psychotropic Medications and Children (member log-in required)
• AACAP Policy Statement: Pharmaceutical Benefit Management and the Use of Psychotropic Medication for Children and Adolescents
• AACAP Policy Statement: Prescribing Psychoactive Medication for Children and Adolescents
• AACAP Policy Statement: Restrictions on the Prescribing Practices of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists by Managed Care Formularies
• AACAP Facts for Families: Psychiatric Medication For Children And Adolescents Part I-How Medications Are Used
• AACAP Facts for Families: Psychiatric Medication For Children And Adolescents: Part II - Types Of Medications
• Guide for Community Child Serving Agencies on Psychothropic Medications for Children and Adolescents

School-Based Mental Health

• AACAP Statement on Safely Reopening Schools
• Increasing Mental Health Services for Students in Schools, K-12 One-Pager
• Support Letter for MH Services in Schools
• AACAP Fact Sheet: Bullying
• AACAP Policy Statement: Prevention of Bullying Related Morbidity and Mortality

Scope of Practice

• AACAP Advocacy Toolkit: Scope of Practice (member log-in required)

Suicide Prevention

• AACAP Fact Sheet: Suicide Prevention
• AACAP Policy Statement: Suicide Prevention

Telepsychiatry

• AACAP, other National Physician Organizations Ask Governors and Insurance Commissioners to Continue Telehealth Flexibilities Beyond COVID-19 Pandemic
• AACAP's Telepsychiatry Resources
• For COVID-19 related state and federal legislative and regulatory changes, see Center for Connected Health Policy

Transition Documents

• Policy Recommendations to the 115th Congress and the Trump Administration
• Protect Mental Health Parity

Workforce Shortage

• AACAP Letter to Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (March 20, 2023)
• Loan Relief to Address Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Workforce Shortage One-Pager
• State Workforce Maps
• Support Letter for MH Loan Repayment
• Pediatric Subspecialty Loan Repayment Letter
• Behavioral Health Workforce Report - SAMHSA