Enhancing Mental Health Services for Children & Families
February 23, 2022The mental health and well-being of our state's youth and families has been a leading priority of mine. While we saw a rise in depression, anxiety, self-harm, and other forms of distress in young people prior to the pandemic, the increased isolation and uncertainty that has come from the past two years has exacerbated this issue. My colleagues and I have worked collaboratively on a bipartisan bill to provide additional support, resources and structural change to the children's mental health system in Connecticut.
HB 5001, An Act Concerning Children's Mental Health>, is a comprehensive proposal encompassing schools, healthcare settings, insurance eligibility, screening tools, and more. A press conference was held on Friday, Feb. 18, to unveil the legislation and discuss the ways in which it will address the needs of Connecticut's mental and behavior health system for children. You can watch the on-demand recording here.
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The Public Health Committee and the Committee on Children will hold a joint public hearing via Zoom on Friday, February 25th at 9 a.m. on this piece of legislation and the SB 2, An Act Expanding Preschool and Mental and Behavioral Services for Children. You can watch live on YouTube or on CT-N.
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I hope you will join in sharing your thoughts on this important piece of legislation and stay involved as this bill moves through the legislature and may undergo some changes. I will keep you updated throughout the process.