Testimony: Department of Behavioral Health 2014 Oversight Hearing

In testimony today at the oversight hearing for the District’s Department of Behavioral Health, Executive Director Judith Sandalow noted the agency’s strides in improving the children’s mental health system, and highlighted the barriers that remain to getting services to the children who need them.

These include:

• Programs are underutilized because of a complicated system of care.

• Evaluations revealed an uneven quality of services.

• Outcomes for youth diverted from residential treatment are unknown.

Read the full testimony as submitted to the Council.