{"id":248773,"date":"2026-04-02T17:58:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T17:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/248773\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T17:58:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T17:58:12","slug":"we-cant-leave-children-out-of-the-countys-behavioral-health-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/248773\/","title":{"rendered":"We can\u2019t leave children out of the county\u2019s behavioral health plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Behavioral<\/a>One of San Diego County\u2019s behavioral health centers. (photo courtesy of the county)<\/p>\n

Eighteen months ago, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors took a big step forward for children and youth in the region.<\/p>\n

\"Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n

In an effort to confront mental health challenges in the early years, the board directed county Behavioral Health Services to put together a plan with a wonky, but important title. It was dubbed the Children, Youth, and Transition Age Youth Behavioral Health Continuum Framework for San Diego County<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As an advocate for San Diego\u2019s children, I was thrilled that help was on its way for kids of all ages.<\/p>\n

Except, when I called in to comment on the framework at last week\u2019s Board of Supervisors\u2019 meeting, \u201cchildren\u201d had disappeared from the plan. It was now simply the Youth Optimal Care Pathways<\/a> model.<\/p>\n

Words matter here. Because they reflect choices. Choices about who gets served, as well as about how we strategize to build a truly \u201coptimal\u201d pathway for care.<\/p>\n

Because a truly optimal pathway would include a plan for tending to our youngest San Diegans. It would acknowledge that the roots of adolescent mental health crises can begin in early childhood. And it would account for the fact that the most cost-effective<\/a> and humane intervention point is during the 0-5 period, not after symptoms have escalated.<\/p>\n

In the work I do as director of San Diego for Every Child<\/a>, a nonprofit focused on alleviating child poverty, and co-lead of Children First Collective<\/a>, a local child care advocacy coalition, we hear from parents and child care providers how difficult it is to get help for a young child facing a mental or behavioral health issue, let alone a crisis.<\/p>\n

Because of the workforce shortage and specialized training needed, the wait list can be months long.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a huge percentage of a young child\u2019s life, and waiting can disrupt everything from their healthy development and a teacher\u2019s capacity to manage a whole classroom, to a parent\u2019s ability to go to work.<\/p>\n

In 2024, we were part of the group that pushed for the county to create this plan. We did so knowing that services for young children would be on the chopping block in multiple ways in the coming years because of declining state revenue in the tobacco tax<\/a> that supports First 5 San Diego<\/a>, the singular county entity expressly focused on children under 5, and a reduction of family supports<\/a> and mental health prevention dollars because of Proposition 1.<\/p>\n

I fully support the county\u2019s investment in San Diego\u2019s youth mental health. In the wake of COVID and with substantial concerns around social media, substance use and more, we know youth are struggling.<\/p>\n

But the ask from here is pretty clear-cut: let\u2019s not forget about San Diego\u2019s youngest population when we\u2019re talking about mental and behavioral health.<\/p>\n

Their diagnosis, needs, and treatment look vastly different than an adult or even a young person\u2019s in many cases.<\/p>\n

Children aged 0-5 require what is called dyadic care. It means integrating the many caring adults<\/a> in a child\u2019s life and focusing on relational health and well-being that stems from safe, stable and nurturing relationships.<\/p>\n

Parent and caregiver understanding and ability to respond effectively is foundational for both the diagnosis and treatment of a young child. It\u2019s not just something nice to have, it is critical to that child\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

In fact, focusing on prevention and early intervention can help address any diagnoses or issues before they worsen. And the first step to doing that is to build them into plans like this \u2014 capturing which services are being offered for them and where the gaps are.<\/p>\n

There are great efforts underway, such as the Strategic Behavioral Health Initiative<\/a>, in which practitioners and advocates for young children\u2019s mental and behavioral health are already convening.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s see the county\u2019s Behavioral Health Services continue to collaborate with partners in existing spaces like that in a meaningful way, so we don\u2019t reinvent the wheel; that way, we\u2019ll all be able to better understand the field\u2019s specificities, deficits and strengths.<\/p>\n

We know that families are navigating a lot right now; the cost of housing, child care, groceries and more is debilitating. Let\u2019s do what we can to ensure that those who also have a little one struggling with a mental or behavioral health issue get the support they need and deserve.<\/p>\n

Erin Hogeboom is director of San Diego for Every Child<\/a>, a nonprofit focused on alleviating child poverty, and co-leader of Children First Collective<\/a>, a local child care advocacy coalition.<\/p>\n

Want to submit a letter to the editor, guest column or\u00a0opinion\u00a0piece? Find our guidelines and submission form\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of San Diego County\u2019s behavioral health centers. (photo courtesy of the county) Eighteen months ago, the San…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248774,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[60691,10571,2305,110996,74,84,76,75],"class_list":{"0":"post-248773","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-behavioral-health-services","9":"tag-child-care","10":"tag-children","11":"tag-children-first-collective","12":"tag-san-diego","13":"tag-san-diego-county","14":"tag-san-diego-headlines","15":"tag-san-diego-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}