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Washington, DC -- The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, the nation's leading legal-advocacy organization representing people with mental disabilities, today urged lawmakers to act on legislation to expand coverage of health care services for children with severe emotional disturbances. "Congress can make a difference for families struggling to get mental health services for their children" said Laurel Stine, Director of Federal Relations at the Bazelon Center. "Lawmakers must not miss this critical opportunity to act.” The Family Opportunity Act would help families of children with severe disabilities - including children with serious mental and emotional disorders - get needed health and mental health care for their child. Stine and other mental health advocates spent the day lobbying Members of Congress to pass the legislation this year by handing out whistles to remind lawmakers not to "blow it" for families who have long waited for enactment of the bill. "For three years, this bill has had remarkable bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate,” continued Stine. “If I were a member of one of these families, I’d be wondering why more wasn’t getting done." The bill was first introduced in early 2000, but has died each year. Supporters in the Senate tried last week to pass the bill – a move advocates believe would have increased pressure on the House of Representatives to take up the measure. But efforts to move the legislation were blocked when an unidentified Senator objected. “Families across the country are being torn apart,” said Mary Giliberti, a senior staff attorney at the Bazelon Center and co-author of the 1998 book, Relinquishing Custody: The Tragic Result of Failure to Meet Children's Mental Health Needs. “The Family Opportunity Act could help change that.” Currently, many families who lack adequate insurance to cover much-needed mental health services for their child must face difficult decisions. For some, Medicaid can offer comprehensive services, but becoming eligible often requires parents to choose between living in poverty or giving up custody of their child to the state. One in five families with children with mental illnesses are told by the state to give up custody of their child, according to a study by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. To avoid giving up custody, many parents turn down hard-earned promotions and pay increases, effectively spending down to remain eligible for Medicaid coverage. “I can think of few policies that are more regressive than the way we cover kids with mental illnesses,” concluded Giliberti. “Something is definitely broken here and it’s past time we started fixing it.” The Senate may again take up the Family Opportunity Act this week. -30- Media Contact: Christopher Burley 202-467-5730 x 133 or leec@bazelon.org The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law is the nation’s leading legal advocate for people with mental disabilities. Since its founding in 1972, the nonprofit organization’s precedent-setting litigation and public-policy advocacy has successfully challenged many barriers and expanded access to public schools, workplaces, housing and many other opportunities for community life. |
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