AAP Mental Health

AAP Task Force on Mental Health

Man carrying little boy on his shoulders.

In 2004, in response to the growing need to address children’s mental health concerns in primary care, the AAP Board of Directors formed the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Task Force on Mental Health (TFOMH). The Task Force is chaired by Jane Meschan Foy, MD, FAAP, and includes 10 AAP members, 5 AAP member consultants, and liaisons representing mental health professional organizations, family organizations, and other professional societies. The task force is responsible for providing feedback and guidance to AAP staff on mental health projects as outlined in the AAP Mental Health Action Plan.

Task Force on Mental Health Fact Sheet (pdf)

Liasions:

Terry Carmichael, MSW
National Association of Social Workers

Darcy Gruttadaro, JD
National Alliance on Mental Illness

Gary Sigman, MD
Society for Adolescent Medicine

L. Read Sulik, MD
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Myrtis Sullivan, MD, MPH
National Medical Association

Members:

Jane Foy, MD, Chairperson
Paula Duncan, MD
Barbara Frankowski, MD, MPH
Alain Joffe, MD
Kelly Kelleher, MD, MPH
Penelope Knapp, MD
Danielle Laraque, MD
Thomas McInerny, MD
Patricia J. OMalley, MD
Gary Peck, MD
James Perrin, MD
Michael Regalado, MD
Jack Swanson, MD
Lynn Mowbray Wegner, MD
Mark Wolraich, MD

Improving Mental Health in Primary Care Through Access, Collaboration, and Training (IMPACT)

In 2005, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) received the IMPACT grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) to address these issues. The primary target audience for the IMPACT program includes pediatricians, family physicians, nurses, child mental health professionals, public health officials, mental health consumers, and the MCHB partners. Through the IMPACT program, educational opportunities are provided to pediatricians and other primary care clinicians; collaboration between primary care clinicians and mental health professionals is encouraged at the national, state, and local levels; tools being developed will encourage planning at the state and local levels; and the public is educated about the importance of early screening and diagnosis of mental health disorders.

IMPACT Fact Sheet (pdf)

For more information about the AAP Task Force on Mental Health or the IMPACT program, please contact mentalhealth@aap.org