Thank you Joe Simitian and the other County Supervisors for starting to address this serious problem! I have several friends who have told me similar experiences to Sarah Gentile's. It adds additional stress to a family already going through a nightmare.

Gay youths should be the first people they sign up for the local mental facility.

Ken Yeager should also go there!!

Thank you for your coverage of the lack of adolescent mental health services in our community. I just want to clarify one point. A child or adolescent who needs inpatient psychiatric care of ANY length cannot receive it in Santa Clara County because there are no inpatient adolescent psychiatric beds at any hospital in SCC. There is no local hospitalization option for youth who are placed on 5150 holds. If they are seen in the emergency department of a SCC hospital and placed on a 5150 hold, they are "held" in the ED while the hospital tries to find an out-of-county hospital which will agree to treat the child. The child is, then, transported by ambulance (at the financial obligation of the child's family) to the treating hospital.
Also, I said, at the SCC Board of Supervisors' meeting, that I could not imagine being a mother who had to leave her child alone at the adult psychiatric unit at Valley Med (where some youth have been taken after being placed on 5150 holds by the police). I was grateful that I was able to leave my son at Mills Peninsula in San Mateo because they could keep him safe during a change in his medication when I could not.
I am so very grateful to Supervisor Simitian and the entire Board for taking this fist step in improving child and adolescent mental healthcare in Santa Clara County.

As the parent of a teenager who became depressed this past school year and then attempted suicide this study is welcome news. Fortunately our child was hospitalized on a 5150 and placed at Mills. Mills is the closest adolescent facility to us. Unfortunately it is a solid 40 minute drive each way without traffic (80 minute round trip drive twice each day) and then we are only allowed to visit briefly at 2 very specific times during each 24 hour period. This was extremely difficult for our family during an already very stressful and gut wrenching time. First to have our beloved child in such a terrible state and then having to travel so far to visit our child and then to also hold down our jobs and care for our other child. PLEASE PLEASE help other families like ours who love our children and want the best for them. With the local teenage suicide rate so terribly high I IMPLORE the Santa Clara Supervisors to move ahead with a facility for our valuable youth.

Concerned Parent: We been through very similar experiences. If you want to get more involved, my contact info is on the SELPA1 CAC website under "About Us". All the best to you and your family.