[Psychmasters] Political advocacy

[Miller, Rowland Spence]

Subject: [Clindoc] Kennedy Child Mental Health Amendment on the Floor
Today-

 Hi all,
Here's an opportunity for some political involvement of the best kind:
A response to a genuine mental health/ humanitarian need that could ALSO
take care of your student loans down the road. 

Scroll down if you want more background on the proposed legislation.
Also note the time crunch. 
Dan



>Hi everyone,
>
>We all know how important this is!  I'd call my rep, but it's Kennedy 
>so I think he has it covered :) .
>
>Good luck to us,
>Soundhari
>
>************************************************************
>Soundhari Balaguru, Ph.D.
>Children's Hospital Neighborhood Partnerships (CHNP) Postdoctoral 
>Fellow in Clinical Psychology 617-355-7910 office 
>soundhari.balaguru at childrens.harvard.edu
>************************************************************

>To:     CHILDRENS-ADVOCACY at LISTS.APA.ORG
>
>Hello everyone!
>
>This note is to strongly urge to contact your representative TODAY and 
>ask them to vote YES on the Kennedy-Ros-Lehtinen amendment to the 
>Higher Education Act (called the College Access and Opportunity
Act--H.R.
>609) that will be offered on the Floor of the U.S. House today.  The 
>amendment would add child and adolescent mental health professionals to

>a list of high-need professions eligible for loan forgiveness.  Below 
>is the action alert we sent out this morning on this important issue.
>
>Please take a minute to call your representative.
>
>_http://capwiz.com/apapolicy/callalert/index.tt?alertid=8635991&type=CO
>
><http://capwiz.com/apapolicy/callalert/index.tt?alertid=8635991&type=CO

>Thanks!!
>
>Annie
>
>Annie G. Toro, J.D.
>Senior Legislative & Federal Affairs Officer and Co-Director, 
>Congressional Fellowship Program Public Policy Office American 
>Psychological Association
>(202) 336-6068
>(202) 336-6063 fax
>--
>  Donald Wertlieb, Ph.D.
>
>  TUFTS UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR CHILDREN  (TUCC) 
>http://www.tucc.tufts.edu Vote for the Kennedy-Ros-Lehtinen Amendment
>
>
>March 29, 2006
>
>Dear Colleague:
>
>We are writing to urge you to support the Kennedy-Ros-Lehtinen 
>amendment to H.R. 609 which would help alleviate critical shortages in 
>the child and adolescent mental health workforce and end the epidemic 
>of untreated childhood mental illness!
>
>Around the country, long waiting lists for service are endemic, even in

>acute situations.  Imagine being the parent of a suicidal teenager who 
>is told that the next available appointment for your son or daughter is

>four months away-literally requiring parents to monitor their child 24 
>hours a day, 7 days a week, to ensure his or her survival.
>
>In his landmark Mental Health: Report of the Surgeon General, Surgeon 
>General David Satcher found that 20 percent of children and adolescents

>in the United States live with mental illness, but only 30 percent of 
>these children receive the care that they need (p. 180).  The factors 
>leading to this epidemic lack of care are varied, but central to the 
>cause is a critical shortage of trained professionals to deliver care.
>President Bush's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health reported that 
>it "heard consistent testimony from consumers, families, advocates, and

>public and private providers about the 'workforce crisis' in mental 
>health
care....
>[P]articular shortages exist for mental health providers who serve 
>children..." (p. 70). The problem is especially severe in rural areas, 
>the President's Commission found, noting "Virtually all of the rural 
>counties in this country have a shortage of practicing psychiatrists, 
>psychologists, and social workers.... These professional shortage 
>problems are even worse for children..." (p. 51).
>
>The Institute of Medicine issued a report about the quality chasm in 
>mental health care which notes that most children and adolescents who 
>receive mental healthcare get it through their schools yet the national

>ratio of counselors to students is far above the recommended ratio.  In

>U.S. schools, the ratio of counselors to students is 1:488 when the 
>recommended ratio is 1:250; the number of school psychologist per 
>student is 1:1,635 while the recommended ratio is 1:1000.
>
>The implications of these shortages are devastating for young people 
>and their families.  Suicide is the third-leading cause of death in 
>children and adolescents.  More than half of children in special 
>education for mental illnesses fail to graduate.  An estimated 70 
>percent of young people in juvenile detention facilities have mental 
>illnesses and often must extend their stay so that community mental 
>health services can be secured. And, every year, tens of thousands of 
>children and adolescents are forced from their families into state 
>custody as the only way to get them potentially life-saving mental 
>health
care.
>
>
>The Kennedy-Ros-Lehtinen amendment to H.R. 609 adds urgently needed 
>child and adolescent mental health professionals to the list of 
>high-need professions eligible for loan forgiveness.  Because clinical 
>mental health positions typically pay extremely poorly, this program 
>would be a particularly valuable tool to combat the shortages that so 
>many experts have identified as a crucial public health concern.
>
>
>                                                         Sincerely,
>
>
>
>______________________________
>_____________________________
>Patrick J. 
>Kennedy
>Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
>Member of
>Congress
>Member of Congress
>

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