APPENDIX
YoungMinds
MISSION STATEMENT
YoungMinds works to promote the mental health
of children and young people.
KEY PURPOSES:
— to encourage the provision of comprehensive,
accessible and effective child and adolescent mental health services;
— to encourage public policy-makers
to take account of the mental health needs of children, young
people and their families;
— to promote a greater public awareness
of the mental health and emotional needs of children, young people
and their families.
YoungMinds is a unique alliance of professional
organisations working in the field of child and adolescent mental
health, as well as of many group and individual members. YoungMinds
is committed to a multi-disciplinary and inter-agency approach
to improving the emotional and psychological well-being of children,
young people and their families.
BACKGROUND
YoungMinds was incorporated in 1993 with the
general aim of promoting the mental health of children and young
people. At that time, despite clear indications of growing need,
the subject of child and adolescent mental health was generally
poorly understood, noticeably absent from the public policy agenda,
and at best represented by sectional professional interest groups.
Over five years, YoungMinds' broad and strong
multi-professional constitution, together with its campaigning,
information giving and service-providing activities, has already
earned the organisation a good public profile and an influential
and respected position in the field of child and adolescent mental
health.
In this period there has been a marked and welcome
increase in the recognition of the scale and nature of child and
adolescent mental health problems, by government, professional
child-care workers and the public alike. We believe that this
positive change is due, at least in part, to our early efforts.
Despite progress made, however, we are conscious
of the scale and complexity of unmet needs that still exist, throughout
the country. A tremendous body of work remains to be undertaken
before national service provision reaches acceptable and consistent
standards in the detection, prevention and treatment of mental
health problems in the young.
YoungMinds is determined to capitalise on its
early success and growing organisational strength and focus by
adapting and developing its operations in order to continue to
make a significant contribution to the field in the future.
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