HF1044 SF1811 is in Rules Committee at position 2.
Essays
Essay
See M. Yang
Camden High School, Minneapolis, MN
IB HL Global Politics Yr1
Brionna Harder
November 25, 2025
Bill HF1044, SF1811
All legislators should vote yes on HF1044 because it widens the range of services provided to individuals who seek mental healthcare services. My bill offers to extend the reach of occupational therapy services and its providers to Minnesota’s mental health Uniform Service Standards (USS) along with mental health services and children's mental health grant programs. With the addition of occupational therapy in behavioral health, healthcare workforces are more unified, giving providers room to perform more efficiently. Subsequently, Minnesotans will receive care from providers that promote their everyday living through occupational therapy. This opens pathways for patients, allowing occupational therapists to connect with those in need in order to achieve a more equitable society. These opportunities will ripple in effect to work towards a more accessible and affordable healthcare system.
The bill ensures that providers in occupational therapy are upheld to the necessary common goals prior to serving clients. In this way, occupational therapists conduct their work according to ethics and meet the standards of certified professionals. Through collaborative effort, the lack of behavioral health workers could be decreased nationwide with the knowledge of occupational therapists. Their practices allow them to be well versed in a behavioral health setting (Read et al., 2024). Without a doubt, occupational therapists contribute to bridging the gaps in mental healthcare services.
The inclusion of occupational therapy in mental health services strengthens its purpose as it works with people such as behavioral health individuals to enhance their quality of life, following benefits in mental health. According to Valverde-Bolivar et al. (2022), “Intervention programs conducted by occupational therapy together with psychopharmacological treatment have assisted in improving performance and occupational interests in patients with SMD.” In this study, participants also reflected on their experience which resulted in 92.20% of positive feedback in treatment and 76.60% of effectiveness from the therapy (Valverde-Bolivar et al., 2022). The outcome of this experimental study portrays the impact of occupational therapy on mental health conditions. It connects people who deal with these disorders to occupational therapists who are trained in helping those who need it. Therefore, with the bill in action more services in behavioral health will be brought forth with the assistance of occupational therapy.
As stated, occupational therapy plays a significant role in advancing the mental health care system as its foundation stems from behavioral health. However, it remains at a standstill due to policies that prevent occupational therapy from presenting as mental health providers (Read et al., 2024). These policies mandate certain professions to serve in behavioral health settings, yet occupational therapy is not labeled within the same category. A core principle of the Mental Health Uniform Service Standards Act is described as providers supporting individuals with a treatment plan to meet client goals for recovery (Holt, 2024). For this reason, choosing to bring occupational therapy to behavioral health services reinforces the workforce with providers who serve many communities and is able to tackle mental disturbances. This is a principle that holds true to occupational therapists as it is a main part of the work they do to be with their clients every step of the way until they have the ability to resume daily living. Through HF1044, the potential that occupational therapy services have can be utilized and acknowledged in mental healthcare to shine light on its importance.
Additionally, an extension of occupational therapy in children’s mental health grants form preventative or interventional opportunities that are directed towards helping youth navigate behavioral health complications. Alyssa Mason, a pediatric occupational therapist at M Health Fairview’s Pediatric Therapy Clinic shares, “I didn’t realize how much occupational therapy has a role in mental health until I got into OT and discovered how truly broad it is.” She also encourages combined teams of different professions to include an occupational therapist in the team as they have insight and expertise in the mental health field that often goes overlooked (University of Minnesota, 2025). For this reason, choosing to bring occupational therapy to child mental health grants reinforces the workforce with providers who serve many communities and are able to tackle mental disturbances in youth.
To conclude, mental healthcare can become more obtainable by incorporating occupational therapy into Minnesota’s USS, mental health services, and children mental health grants. As a result, more variety in therapeutic services will give Minnesotans the autonomy to have occupational therapy services as an available behavioral health resource. Occupational therapists recognized in giving care as competent mental health providers expands our mental healthcare system and improves its functionality. Legislators should approve the passing of bill HF1044 as it focuses on highlighting occupational therapy in behavioral health services and children mental health grants in accordance with Minnesota USS guidelines. In providing more options in healthcare, communities have exposure to access in behavioral health.
References
Holt, D. (2024, April 16). Minnesota’s Mental Health Uniform Service Standards Act (Chapter 245I). Holt Law. https://djholtlaw.com/minnesotas-mental-health-uniform-service-standards-act-chapter-245i/ Date Accessed November 23, 2025.
Read, H., Zagorac, S., Neumann, N., Kramer, I., Walker, L., & Thomas, E. (2024). Occupational Therapy: A Potential Solution to the Behavioral Health Workforce Shortage. Psychiatric Services, 75(7). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20230298 Date Accessed November 23, 2025.
University of Minnesota. (2025). Revealing OT’s Role in Mental Health. Institute on Community Integration. https://ici.umn.edu/news/revealing-ot-s-role-in-mental-health Date Accessed November 23, 2025.
Valverde-Bolivar, E., Simonelli-Muñoz, A. J., Rivera-Caravaca, J. M., Gallego-Gómez, J. I., Rodríguez González-Moro, M. T., & García-Arenas, J. J. (2022). Occupational Therapy in Severe Mental Disorder—A Self-Controlled Quasi-Experimental Study. Healthcare, 10(3), 493. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10030493 Date Accessed November 22, 2025.