Issue Position: Mental Health

Issue Position

Research has shown that children with mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders can benefit from better access to mental and behavioral health care, programs that support parents and caregivers, and better opportunities to learn, play, and socialize

Sadly, based on his voting record, the 10th District incumbent does not believe in the importance of improving children's mental health. In 2017 he voted AGAINST legislation which provides greater access to behavioral and mental health resources in our schools (HB 1377 Improving Students' Mental Health By Enhancing Non Academic Professional Services).

There are three aspects of improving mental health services on which we must focus our efforts:

Provide increase access and delivery of affordable mental and behavioral health care to families by expanding community-based mental and behavioral services in order to offer local, long-term support.
Foster policies and programs to alleviate financial hardships for families caused by seeking mental health services for themselves and their children.
Help health-care providers screen parents for stress, depression, and other mental health problems in order to provide greater caregiver support and connect caregivers to community resources.
We can make a difference. I'm absolutely dedicated to introducing and supporting legislation that focuses on providing access to affordable long-term, community-based services which will result in an improved mental and behavioral health support network for all families in the 10th District.

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