Penetration

I mentioned on a different blog about the New Freedom Act and how it aims to test all children attending school for mental illness. There is a concept that the government calls Penetration. Penetration is about the Community Mental Health Agencies attempting to recruit more children to receive mental health services by expert observation and coercion. The Community Mental Health Agencies get funded for how many children who are deemed to be "in need" of mental health services actually receive those services. Therefore, there is pressure for these agencies to enroll children into their services. This can lead to pressuring parents to get their children enrolled in services. This forced service doctrine can have some detrimental effects. The parents can be coerced by the schools and agencies to get served. This mental health system still believes in denial and resistance while using some forceful techniques to sweep parents and their children up in the the medical model that dominates our society. Any alternative approach may be viewed as disatrous to the funding of the Community Mental Health Agencies. I strongly encourage parents to actively scrutinze the system and get to really know your rights. The Community Mental Health Agencies may get offended and add pressure but ultimately you still have a lot of control over what happens with your child.