For children’s mental health, the focus is all on the budget. This week we can give you the specifics of legislative amendments to the Governor’s budget that affect children’s mental health. The Campaign's two big priorities this session are: Child Psychiatry Demonstration Projects and Crisis Response Demonstration Projects. Read more about the specific budget amendments for these items that the General Assembly is considering.
*Budget Update: 1/27/2012: To see a chart of all the budget amendments that Voices for Virginia’s Children is following, including other children’s mental health issues, please click here.
Advocacy Day at the General Assembly: Thursday, January 26, 2012
Our Campaign Advocacy Day at the General Assembly was a HUGE success! Thank you to all of our advocates, partners, friends, staff, board members, legislators and their staff, and many others who packed the 7th floor conference room and brought a lot of attention to our children's mental health budget initiatives.
Quite a few legislators were in attendance, despite their busy schedules, including budget amendment patrons Del. Dickie Bell, Del. Patrick Hope and Sen. Emmett Hanger. Of course, Campaign for Children's Mental Health advocates were our champions of the day, as they not only filled the room, but also took to the halls of the General Assembly building (armed with chocolate and talking points!), seeking out legislators and spreading the word on our budget priorities this session. We were also thrilled to be joined by two of Virginia's former First Ladies -- Voices' Board Member Anne Holton and her mother, Virginia Holton, a founding board member of Voices for Virginia’s Children. Click here to access our talking points on the children's mental health budget initiatives.
Delegate Dickie Bell speaks out for children's mental health
Republican Delegate Richard "Dickie" Bell, from Staunton, calls on Governor McDonnell and fellow lawmakers to fund mental health services for children in an op-ed in The Virginian-Pilot on December 13, 2011. "Mental health care must be added to the list of critical services we provide to Virginians." Read the entire op-ed on the Virginian-Pilot site or access a PDF of the article here.
Advocacy Training December 1st in Richmond
The Campaign, along with the Virginia Family Network and the Children’s Mental Health Resource Center, sponsored an advocacy training for 25 individuals from around Virginia on December 1. The training included both families of children with mental health needs and those who work with them. Bill Murray, managing director of public policy for Dominion and former legislative director for Governors Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, provided the training on how to talk to legislators. You can review his presentation here.
New RTD Op-ED
We believe independent clinical assessments for children needing certain Medicaid mental health services are a step in the right direction. Read the op-ed that appeared in the Richmond Times Dispatch on Saturday, October 15, co-authored by Voices’ Campaign Coordinator Margaret Nimmo Crowe and Mira Signer, Executive Director of NAMI Virginia.
Campaign releases Action Agenda; Sign the petition to show your support!
The Campaign for Children's Mental Health released its Action Agenda for 2011-2012 on Tuesday, June 14, 2011. The agenda outlines three policies that will greatly improve Virginia’s mental health system for kids. In the accompanying letter to Gov. Bob McDonnell, we expressed the need for his leadership on this issue.
We want to make sure that the voices of the 100,000 Virginia children with serious mental disorders are heard in the upcoming budget preparations by the Governor’s administration, and this is where we need your help. We started an online petition to support the agenda, and in the first week more than 1,200 Virginians signed it! Thank you. Let’s keep it going! Please take 1 minute and click here to sign the online petition!
Read our report, analyzing your feedback from the Campaign’s eight regional forums and online surveys.
The Campaign for Children's Mental Health - because...
1 in 5 kids experience a mental health problem, but only 1 in 5 of those children receive the treatment they need. Children from any background or from any economic circumstance may experience mental health problems, even young children.
The need is critical, and the time for reform is now. The children’s mental health system in Virginia is long-overdue for transformation. The availability of community-based services varies greatly throughout the state, with some areas having almost no services for children. When services are available, too often they cannot be accessed because the delivery systems are fragmented and confusing and waiting times are long.
Children with untreated mental health problems are at risk for school failure and dropping out, violence, substance abuse, and suicide. Without treatment, children and families often end up in crisis, requiring more intensive and expensive treatment than if they had been given appropriate treatment and support at the right time.
Virginia can and should do better for its children.
The Campaign for Children’s Mental Health is the first-ever coordinated effort to improve Virginia’s child mental health system. The campaign brings together advocates, parents, treatment professionals, organizations and all the others who desire to make mental health services more available and accessible to the children who need them.
Get Involved! Explore this website to learn more about the Campaign and how you can join our effort.
For Families!
Become a Family Ambassador:
Give direct input to the Campaign, link up with similar families, help promote the Campaign in your neighborhood.
Contact Margaret for more info.
Share your story:
Personal stories, combined with meaningful policy solutions, are what will help us convince our Governor and legislators to make children’s mental health services more accessible.
