"This year, Senator Collins has helped lead the charge to improve children's mental health," Robert Bernstein, executive director at the Bazelon Center, told more than 150 people gathered to honor the Senator at a Washington luncheon today.
Because mental health services for children are in short supply and are often not covered by private insurance, families face tremendous difficulties getting help. When they cannot otherwise access the assistance their child needs, a shockingly large number of parents turn to the state, relinquishing custody of their children to obtain state-funded mental health services.
"This is a national crisis and it demands a national response," said Bernstein, applauding the Senator's efforts to improve services and to raise public awareness of what the Bazelon Center calls a "national tragedy" at a Washington luncheon earlier today.
A General Accounting Office report requested by Senator Collins and Representatives Pete Stark and Patrick Kennedy—the first government study to look at the prevalence of custody relinquishment—found that, in 2001 alone, at least 12,700 American families relinquished custody to obtain needed mental health services. "The study offered irrefutable proof of what families have known all along – the system is broken, and it's past time lawmakers started fixing it," Bernstein told those in attendance.
As chair of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Senator Collins convened a July hearing on custody relinquishment that provided a national forum for parents and advocates to describe the serious obstacles they face in accessing services for their children and the extreme measures that some have taken to get their children the help they need.
In October, Collins introduced legislation in the Senate to improve coordination between agencies that serve children with mental and emotional health needs and to expand access to home- and community- based services.
"Senator Collins has made a commitment to help close the gaping holes in the nation's safety net for children with mental health needs, sponsoring legislation that would lay the foundation for needed systemic reforms," said Bernstein. "While no single piece of legislation can address all the system's woes, the Keeping Families Together Act is a critical step toward meeting the needs of these children."
The program was hosted by CNN's Judy Woodruff and also featured comments by Maryland parent Jewel Wilson, who spoke on the barriers she faced in accessing care for her child and the need for federal action to address problems in the nation's mental health system for children.
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law is the nation's leading legal advocate for people with mental disabilities. For more information on the Bazelon Center, please see www.bazelon.org.