Advocates urge support for Maine mental health bills
The Maine legislature is racing to the end of the session this month with a very busy agenda ahead. Several of the items still facing lawmakers involve mental health resources in Maine.The president and CEO of Sweetser, Jayne Van Bramer, joined Maine’s Total Coverage to talk about why she thinks those bills are important and what they would mean to people in the state.Two bills have already received initial support in the House and the Senate: the Expand Child ACT and a bill to save school-based therapy. Both do have fiscal notes attached, meaning they need to be funded. Sweetser established the state’s only Child ACT team in Saco, which stands for Assertive Community Treatment. “This model is a best practice and we know this model works getting kids out of ERs and into the most natural help out in the community/school/home,” said Van Bramer. “The program supports children who have not benefited from lower levels of treatment and who are at risk of needing inpatient, crisis, or residential services. The goal of Child ACT is to work with the child and family to identify goals and implement strategies that will improve the child’s functioning while remaining at home in the community, with available support 24/7.”One bill seeks to incentivize the creation of two additional Child ACT teams in Lewiston and Bangor. LD 858 would help save family therapy offered at public school campuses by providing resources for organizations and schools to work together. That comes with an annual cost of $1.3 million.”Due to a lack of financial support, providers like Sweetser have had to make serious cuts to this program,” said Van Bramer. “We had around 80 school-based clinicians working with more than 2,300 children in 100 public schools during the last school year. That’s not the case now. We are down to less than 20 clinicians. These cuts could have been prevented, and we must stabilize this program or it won’t be around. This program is the best form of prevention we have, embedding clinicians right on school campuses, working with teachers, coaches, and parents to develop tailored support to youth who need it.”Van Bramer said youth are facing unprecedented levels of depression and that teen girls in particular are feeling sad and hopeless at high levels. “We are in the midst of a youth mental health crisis, and yet we have a lot of work to do to fully invest in children’s behavioral health and family support,” she said.She said there are 422 Maine children waiting for home and community-based services and that the state is spending $32 million each year to send youth to care in other states. Van Bramer encouraged people to contact members of the legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee to urge them to approve funding for these efforts.
The Maine legislature is racing to the end of the session this month with a very busy agenda ahead.
Several of the items still facing lawmakers involve mental health resources in Maine.
The president and CEO of Sweetser, Jayne Van Bramer, joined Maine’s Total Coverage to talk about why she thinks those bills are important and what they would mean to people in the state.
Two bills have already received initial support in the House and the Senate: the Expand Child ACT and a bill to save school-based therapy. Both do have fiscal notes attached, meaning they need to be funded.
Sweetser established the state’s only Child ACT team in Saco, which stands for Assertive Community Treatment.
“This model is a best practice and we know this model works getting kids out of ERs and into the most natural help out in the community/school/home,” said Van Bramer. “The program supports children who have not benefited from lower levels of treatment and who are at risk of needing inpatient, crisis, or residential services. The goal of Child ACT is to work with the child and family to identify goals and implement strategies that will improve the child’s functioning while remaining at home in the community, with available support 24/7.”
One bill seeks to incentivize the creation of two additional Child ACT teams in Lewiston and Bangor.
LD 858 would help save family therapy offered at public school campuses by providing resources for organizations and schools to work together. That comes with an annual cost of $1.3 million.
“Due to a lack of financial support, providers like Sweetser have had to make serious cuts to this program,” said Van Bramer. “We had around 80 school-based clinicians working with more than 2,300 children in 100 public schools during the last school year. That’s not the case now. We are down to less than 20 clinicians. These cuts could have been prevented, and we must stabilize this program or it won’t be around. This program is the best form of prevention we have, embedding clinicians right on school campuses, working with teachers, coaches, and parents to develop tailored support to youth who need it.”
Van Bramer said youth are facing unprecedented levels of depression and that teen girls in particular are feeling sad and hopeless at high levels. “We are in the midst of a youth mental health crisis, and yet we have a lot of work to do to fully invest in children’s behavioral health and family support,” she said.
She said there are 422 Maine children waiting for home and community-based services and that the state is spending $32 million each year to send youth to care in other states.
Van Bramer encouraged people to contact members of the legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee to urge them to approve funding for these efforts.
link
