Intervention fails minority ethnic children
Lauren Higgs
Monday, March 7, 2011
Young people from minority ethnic backgrounds are more likely to suffer mental health problems in later life because early intervention initiatives are not tailored to their needs, it has been claimed.
Mhemooda Malek, researcher at health inequality charity the Afiya Trust, told CYP Now that mainstream wellbeing schemes such as the Healthy Child Programme and Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning fail to properly consider issues of race and diversity.
Ethnic minority children and young people are under-represented in child and adolescent mental health services, she explained.
But the latest statistics from the Count Me In mental health census show that one of the most significant trends since the census began in 2005 is the over-representation of black and minority ethnic people in detention under the Mental Health Act.
This, Malek said, is proof that early intervention services are not working for black and minority ethnic (BME) families.
"There is very little information outlining how preventative programmes are engaging with BME children and families," she said.
"But if BME children and young people do not access these programmes then professionals are not learning about their needs and they're not informing the next cycle of provision, which means services remain inaccessible."
