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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 6, 2020 10:27 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative John T. Galloway |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Mental Health Care Services Clearinghouse |
| According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five youths under the age of 14 have a mental health condition. Less than half of these children with mental health conditions receive mental health care. For many students, families, and school personnel, finding quality mental health care resources in their communities is especially challenging. Schools have a difficult time providing the necessary care and services to their students - not because they don’t want to, but because they don’t know where to start; especially when Pennsylvania's school counselor to student ratio averages 1 to 387. Building a successful prevention and intervention plan starts with a collaborative team that can network with one another to share resources and knowledge. In an effort to bolster coordination efforts among schools, communities, and mental health providers, I am introducing legislation establishing a mental health care services clearinghouse. This clearinghouse will serve as a publicly accessible registry of mental health care resources available across the Commonwealth and will accordingly assist school personnel in connecting families to community mental health resources. Further, this clearinghouse will allow school personnel to learn about and take advantage of existing programs and resources for their schools, where students spend much of the day. This clearinghouse will create a one-stop-shop for mental health resources, saving schools time and resources and improving both the quantity and quality of mental health programming available to those in need. Please join me in co-sponsoring this very important legislation. (Prior HB 2331. Unanimously passed the House Sept. 30, 2020) |
Introduced as HB409