Senator Bill Cassidy (R) - Louisiana
Senator Bill Cassidy introduces a bill to reauthorize the bipartisan Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 that provides crucial programs to improve the nation’s mental health infrastructure. Cassidy said current legislation is set to expire in September and the new bill also focuses on mental health programs for children.
“School closures and isolations have had a terrible toll upon the mental health of our young people. This legislation specifically targets resources to better support children,” said Cassidy.
Cassidy said the 2022 Reauthorization Act not only provides mental health services for children in schools but also for those who find themselves in juvenile detention centers. He said some teens are denied services while they await sentencing.
“We’re trying to stop that, if the judge has not pronounced you guilty, you should continue to have those same rights, but this bill is about making mental health services available wherever that child may be,” said Cassidy. Since the Reform Act of 2016, Cassidy said the pandemic has only worsened the mental health of Americans of all ages, particularly children with school closings and disruptions in academic and social development.
“Now I will say we’re better off because we’ve been bolstered by the Mental Health Reform Act of 2016, the system is better. But pandemic, it’s just a stretch,” said Cassidy.
Cassidy and Connecticut Democrat Senator Chris Murphy introduced the Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 and have joined forces again for the Mental Health Reauthorization Act of 2022.
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