The Child Mental Health Treatment Act (CMHTA) was enacted through H.B. 99-1116 to address the nationwide issue of families struggling to access mental health services for their children. In many cases, families were subjected to unnecessary legal and system involvement solely to obtain necessary mental health services for their children. Contributing factors to this issue included public and private health insurance limitations, inadequate supplies of mental health services, limited availability of services through mental health agencies and schools, attitudes about families of children with serious mental health needs, and difficulties meeting eligibility rules.
