House and Senate budget amendments are now available online. We are busy reviewing amendments relevant to children’s issues. Here are the most relevant amendments related to children’s mental health. You can access all of the amendments on the State Budget website.

Expanded Children’s Crisis Response and Child Psychiatry Services

• This is the top funding priority of Voices’
• Gov. McDonnell included $1 million in his budget amendments.
• Both the House and Senate members put in amendments to add $450,000 to this amount:
  • Item 315 #6h adds $450,000 to this amount in FY14 (Patron: O’Bannon; Co-patrons: Bell (Richard), Brink, Dance, Farrell, Hope, Ingram, Jones, Landes, McClellan, Peace, Watts, Yost)
  • Item 315 #3s (Howell) and Item 315 #9s (Patron: Hanger; Co-patrons: Ebbin, Favola, Herring, Howell, Norment, Saslaw, Vogel, Watkins) add $450,000 in FY14

 Quality Improvement of Medicaid Children’s Mental Health Services

• Item 307 #37s (Hanger) This language amendment requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services, in consultation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to conduct a review of Medicaid-funded children’s mental health services to ensure the provision of evidence-based, cost-effective treatment to children in need of services. The Department shall submit its findings and any recommendations no later than November 1, 2013.
• This item is partially a result of recommendations made by Voices for Virginia’s Children in its white paper released in July 2012:

 Additional Budget Amendments Related to Children’s Mental Health

• Item 283 #1h (Bell, Richard) and Item 283 #2h (Lingamfelter) and Item 283 #1s (Edwards) and Item 283 #2s (Colgan) are language amendments requiring the Office of Comprehensive Services to reinvest unappropriated balances at the end of each fiscal year to address service gaps in the CSA program based on recommendations from the State Executive Council.
• Item 282 #2s (Herring) is a language amendment requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Resources and the Secretary of Education to collaborate on a review of the relationship between the Commonwealth’s community-based mental health services system and schools and provide recommendations by Nov 1, 2013.
• Item 315 #3h (Krupicka) and Item 315 #8s (Howell) add $2.5 million in FY14 to community services boards to provide Mental Health First Aid for the community, including school employees.

We will keep you updated on these and other amendments, as well as opportunities to advocate for these issues.

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