This is Governor Rendell’s final year in office. Many Pennsylvanians are preparing for the transition to a new Governor in January 2011, asking, “What does the new governor need to know about how things are working and not working?” While we expect the new Governor will have vision and experience, no one elected official can know everything about the areas for which they are responsible.

As the primary and general elections proceed this May and November, family and youth stakeholders can contact the candidates to explain the issues that impact their daily lives. No one else can tell this story better. Politicians report they rarely hear from citizens about children’s issues, including mental health care and reform.

This issue of PA Children’s News will discuss the current status of the public mental health system as it relates to children and suggest areas that families can discuss with the candidates and eventually the new administration. In following editions, we will review the other child serving systems – juvenile justice, education, child welfare, and developmental disabilities.

Pennsylvania has a long history of inviting all stakeholders to the table to design, implement, and monitor the children’s and adult mental health systems. For two decades children’s services have been designed to include the family as an equal partner with professionals, long before the scientists determined that this partnership is critical to good outcomes for children. (See Evidence-based Practices — Doing What Works.)

When elected, a new Governor will find many willing and knowledgeable partners among Pennsylvania’s families and youth to help with the ongoing work of caring for children’s mental health and wellness.