State made a promise on mental health

The words from our state leaders matter. When they say a piece of legislation is historic and necessary, that means something. When they say that people are in need and that a new law will help them, the state believes those words.

Such was the case a year ago when the General Assembly passed, in bipartisan fashion, sweeping legislation to take on what has been accurately deemed one of the most serious crises facing our state, concerning children’s mental health. Everyone agreed the situation demanded action, and it was with great pride that new laws were passed to help fill those needs.

As a reminder, the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak devastating to children’s daily lives. Schools were closed, activities curtailed and interactions put on hold. Even years later, the effects continue to linger. Visits to emergency rooms from young people for mental health reasons were up in the pandemic, and the number of young people reporting mental distress has been alarmingly high.

Legislation passed last year aimed to take on those challenges. Now, a year later, this year’s session of the Assembly is threatening to undo any progress that was made.

This isn’t about new spending. This isn’t about what to do with the surplus, whether tax cuts or expanded program offerings should take priority, or whether we should all worry about retirement debt. This is about keeping promises. If the state doesn’t fund the programs it passed last year, it is breaking its word to children in need.

Advocates are deeply worried. New offerings such as crisis centers, which provide care and counseling for those in urgent need, face the prospect of opening this year and then closing just as quickly. The funding to continue isn’t there. In some cases, federal COVID funds that had funded a startup may not be replaced, and so the future is up in the air.

This is a dereliction. It is unacceptable.

We need to be clear on what this means. A child facing a mental health crisis needs immediate assistance. If a trip to a hospital’s emergency department leads to a wait of hours or days before that child can be seen, the consequences are serious. If a young person in need of services is put on a waiting list that may be months long, that’s as good as offering no services at all.

This is the situation our state is facing, and it’s what so many state leaders said they were going to fix. Now all that is in jeopardy.

The budget is not finalized. There is still plenty of negotiation to happen between the governor’s office and legislative leaders. So far, though, most of the attention has focused on how big a tax cut to offer. Tax cuts are fine, but this is not about a choice between tax cuts or a new program. It’s about fulfilling promises that have already been made.

Despite last year’s new laws, the situation around children’s mental health has not dramatically improved. These things take time. All the more reason not to cut out the funding before it can make a difference. State leaders must make this right.

This isn’t about new spending. This isn’t about what to do with the surplus. If the state doesn’t fund the programs it passed last year, it is breaking its word to children in need.