Social policy and child health

Under the rubric of social policy and child mental health are two overlapping but conceptually different areas. The first set is the social policy questions with direct relevance to child mental health programs per se; that is, decisions about whether a given child mental health proposal merits the investment of community resources. The second category of social forces is that which has important secondary consequences for child mental health although child mental health per se may never enter the discussion; for example, policy decisions which have a major impact on family life (women's rights, tax policy, divorce law, employment policy, etc.). This paper will review the first category, the overt policy issues, before moving on to the second category, the "convert" child health debate.