This weeklong series covered every aspect of children’s mental illness from diagnoses, diagnosis and treatment and stigma to accessing and paying for services (health insurance etc.) Numerous individuals with mental illness and their loved ones were interviewed, putting a human face on the issue. Significant findings included insufficient services for treatment, a higher-than-average suicide/self-injury rate (all ages) locally compared to New York state. The series also brought to light the lack of data on suicide by age and in other categories – stigma, it seems, stands in the way of reporting specifics. It also made obvious how little people know about children’s mental illness.
