NH health officials outline children’s behavioral health strategy, residential oversight and new YDC build

Associate Commissioner Trish Tilly of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services told the Finance Division III committee that the department is prioritizing children’s behavioral health, expanding oversight of residential placements and advancing a replacement for the Sununu Youth Development Center.

Tilly told members the department will focus on the children’s behavioral health system, the Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) residential care and juvenile justice, and the adult mental health system. “I am gonna focus on 3 things. I am gonna focus on our children's behavioral health system. I'm gonna focus a bit on DCYF... and then I'm gonna talk a little bit about the adult mental health system,” she said.

The department said statewide survey data show nearly 4 in 10 New Hampshire high school students report feeling “sad or hopeless,” and about 1 in 5 high‑school‑age youth have considered suicide in the past year; Tilly cited the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System as the source. She said those figures underscore the need for a system that provides “the right services for the right kids at the right time.”

Why it matters: committee members were told children’s behavioral health demand is both widespread and intensifying since the pandemic. Tilly and staff said the state has pursued a decade of planning and legislation to build a “system of care” that emphasizes community‑based prevention and…