ACAMH is a registered charity (No: 1042760) as well as a company limited by guarantee and incorporated within England and Wales (No: 2990385). The Association's objectives and constitution is laid out in its Memorandum and Articles and its governing body is the Board (the Board of Directors/Board of Trustees).
The Board comprises 12 members: Chair, Chair Elect (if appointed), Honorary Treasurer, Academic Secretary, Branch Liaison Officer, Editorial Representatives (JCPP and CAMH) and up to six officers elected by the membership at the Annual General Meeting. Board members comprise multi-disciplinary professions and skills, though no one discipline may represent more than 60% of the Board.
Current Board Members are:
| Professor Eric Taylor (chair) | Dr Patrick Byrne (member) |
| Professor Mike Berger (honorary treasurer) | Dr Sebastian Kraemer (member) |
| Dr Orlee Udwin (academic secretary) | Professor Michael Kerfoot (member) |
| Mrs Maureen Smillie (branch liaison officer) | Mr Ian Higgins (member) |
| Professor Tony Charman (JCPP editorial representative) | Professor Stephen Scott (member) |
| Professor Paul Stallard (CAMH editorial representative) | Dr Blanaid Gavin (co-opted member) |
| Professor Lionel Hersov (ex-officio) |
Board members serve for a period of three years and may be re-elected for a further period of three years, if eligible. The Chair is initially appointed to the position of Chair Elect for one year, whereafter they then serve for a period of two years as Chair.
The principal roles of the Board are to:
The Board delegates the executive function of the Association to its Executive Committee, which comprises the Chair, Chair Elect (if appointed), Honorary Treasurer, Academic Secretary, Branch Liaison Officer and Editorial Representative. The Executive Committee has responsibility for finances and investments, standing orders, position papers and policies, academic programme, business plan, premises and staffing matters.
The Board has two editorial committees, one for each of its journals, which are responsible for content and promotion and provide the link between the publishers and authors through the editorial team in the London office. The editorial committee of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry comprises the Editor-in-Chief and seven other editors and of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, the lead editor and two other editors.
The Board has one other committee, the Branches Sub-Committee, which is the focal point for inter-branch communication and liaison, and oversees branch development and the local programme of events. The Sub-Committee comprises a representative from each of the Association's branches.
