Essay
Bill HF1198 Essay
My bill HF1198 is a human resources bill that could be beneficial for multiple reasons. For starters, this bill is dedicated to helping Minnesota families. This bill focuses on helping the mental health and wellness of children while also giving parents the support they need to ensure their children’s mental health comes first. This bill would support child care assistance being expanded, grants and rules regarding children's mental health expanded and modified, staff training requirements modified, covered transportation services modified, coverage of clinical care coordination modified, etc. This is all extremely useful for children struggling with mental health and families who are trying to support these children. According to MN.gov, emotional or mental health problems can develop at any age and can seriously affect many areas of a child or youth’s life. Emotional or mental health problems can affect a child's experience going through day-to-day life, school, and relationships with friends and family, which can also affect their future.
Another example of why this bill is beneficial for families is that this bill modifies and sets up grant programs and grant requirements for a range of children’s mental health services, and appropriates money for grants and services. The Money being appropriated is money that has been set aside for a specific purpose, in this case, the purpose is to support the programs made to help children's mental health services; meaning the money will not have to come out of the families' pockets. According to Stdavidscenter.org, there are nearly 2,000 children in Minnesota waiting for services at St. David’s Center: mental health, occupational and speech therapy, and other support services. These children are waiting on the health care they need because, across the state of Minnesota, Medicaid reimbursement rates cover only 60 percent of the actual cost of mental health care. This leaves families unable to cover the rest of the costs for reliable mental healthcare for their children.
A negative of this bill is that children in the foster care system or families that are not eligible for childcare assistance under the Minnesota Family Investment Program( MFIP) child care program will not have access to the benefits of this bill. Also, there is only access to assistance for MFIP child-only families to get up to 20 hours of childcare per week for children ages six and under, as long as the primary caregiver has a diagnosed mental illness. This limits the amount of children and families who will have access to this kind of care due to not being diagnosed with a mental illness.
In conclusion, I ask all legislators to vote yes on bill HF1198 because it will help Minnesota families support and care for children with mental illness. Today's children are future voters and members of our society; they deserve the support they need to become their best selves.
References
Children's Mental Health: Program Overview
https://mn.gov/dhs/partners-and-providers/program-overviews/childrens-mental-health/
Julie Sjordal (May 9th, 2024) Beyond the Waitlist: Minnesota’s Struggle to Address Children’s Mental Health Needs
https://www.stdavidscenter.org/article/beyond-the-waitlist-minnesotas-struggle-to-address-childrens-mental-health-needs/