Friends,
I met with State Senator Mee Moua recently. She is the first legislator I have connected with who shows a genuine interest in creating a public dialogue around the issues of children’s mental health. So many legislators fail to see the social and economic value of healthy children. Art Rolnick at the Federal Reserve Bank in MN has done extensive work to prove the point
This is a complicated topic with no simple answers. I think that makes legislators avoid the topic.
Senator Moua asked me to submit a bill that would begin a discussion on the issues of mental health services for children in the child protection system.
In the cases that I have worked on, many children removed from their homes by the county have needed counseling and not received it.
Children that have suffered severe or prolonged abuse need a counseling regimen that will be part of their life for a long time. Short term counseling for severely damaged children is just one more abandonment.
Can the prescription of psychotropic drugs like Ritilan, Prozac, without commensurate mental health services be a sound protocol for a disturbed child?
What can I do to create awareness of how many seriously troubled children are being “managed” with psychotropic medications and expected to “become normal” without the help of therapy?
Have something to add?