Supporting children and young people with mental health
problems is not the responsibility of specialist services alone
(Every Child Matters, DfES, 2004a). However, the term child
and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) is
sometimes used narrowly to refer only to specialist child and
adolescent mental health services. There are local variations
in the services provided and differences in referral
procedures. The roles of the different CAMHS tiers in
England are shown below. References for the other UK
countries are given on page 27.