Mental Health Counselors of Central Florida News

Legislative Update Florida 2020 Session

Mon, 23 Sep 2019 17:53:02 GMT

The work of the 2020 Session of the Florida Legislature is underway. Below are 6 initiatives, represented by a total of 10 Senate and House bills, concerning Floridians’ mental health and well-being that have been introduced as of 9/19/19.

You can follow the links for each bill to find summaries and full texts of the bill as well as information on bill co-sponsors.

If you are interested in knowing the progress of any of these or other bills, you can set up your own Bill Tracker account with the Florida Senate here.

Bills Tracked for the 2020 Legislative Session:

Number	Title	Filed By	Last Action
SB 180	Conversion Therapy	Rodriguez	Last Action: 9/19/2019 S Referred to Health Policy; Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Rules
HB 41	Conversion Therapy	Grieco	Last Action: 8/9/2019 H Filed
SB 230	Department of Health	Harrell	Last Action: 9/19/2019 S Referred to Health Policy; Appropriations; Rules
HB 105	Human Trafficking Education in Schools	Williams	Last Action: 9/3/2019 H Filed
SB 154	Human Trafficking Education in Schools	Thurston	Last Action: 9/19/2019 S Referred to Education; Criminal Justice; Appropriations
HB 161	Prohibited Discrimination	Toledo, Webb	Last Action: 9/12/2019 H Filed
SB 206	Prohibited Discrimination	Rouson	Last Action: 9/19/2019 S Referred to Governmental Oversight and Accountability; Judiciary; Rules
SB 104	Services for Veterans and Their Families	Harrell	Last Action: 8/16/2019 S Referred to Military and Veterans Affairs and Space; Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Appropriations
HB 165	Youth in Solitary Confinement	Driskell	Last Action: 9/13/2019 H Filed
SB 228	Youth in Solitary Confinement	Thurston	Last Action: 9/19/2019 S Referred to Criminal Justice; Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Appropriations

Legislative Update SB 1418

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 21:17:40 GMT

Florida Board of Mental Health Professionals, click here.

To review the amendments and the full Bill text, please click here.

LEGISLATIVE ALERT: CONTACT YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS NOW

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 19:02:27 GMT

The following bill has been introduced into the 116^th U.S. Congress in both the House and the Senate and needs the support of our Florida members of Congress:

H.R. 945/S. 286 Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2019

Why this bill is important*:
Medicare does not include licensed professional counselors in its coverage. Medicare beneficiaries are often at higher risk for mental health problems, such as depression and opioid addiction, yet older Americans are the least likely to receive mental health services. Only 1 in 5 older Americans receive needed mental health care, according to NAMI.

Medicaid recipients can see an LPC and Medicaid will cover them-until they reach 65. Many individuals with private health insurance have mental health coverage but, once they retire, find that they can no longer afford to see an LPC. The passage of this legislation will enable Medicare to help the 4 out 5 seniors currently not receiving much-needed mental health care.

As of 2/19/19, no Florida members of Congress have expressed their support of House Bill H.R. 945 or Senate Bill S. 286 by co-sponsoring this legislation. Please contact your House Representative and Senators Rubio and Scott and urge them to co-sponsor this legislation.

If you are a current ACA member, you can click the link below to log in and send your message to your Florida Representative and our Florida Senators via ACA legislative action initiative:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/qIa8vLX99ztuYrRSWni89w

Or contact your Representative and Senators directly. You can identify your members of Congress and access e-mail, phone number, and mailing address information here:

https://whoismyrepresentative.com/

*summary text on H.R. 945/S. 286 resourced from ACA legislative alert 2/15/19.

LEGISLATIVE ALERT: HOUSE BILL H.R. 1109

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 19:00:14 GMT

LEGISLATIVE ALERT: HOUSE BILL H.R. 1109

2/20/19

The following bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on 2/8/19 and needs the support of Florida Representatives:

H.R. 1109, the Mental Health Services for Students Act, to fund on-site mental health services for youth in schools nationwide.

Once passed, the Mental Health Services for Students Act would*:
• Provide access to more comprehensive on-site mental health care services for students and their communities by revising, increasing funding for, and expanding the scope of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Project AWARE Grants for State Educational Agencies which promote youth mental health awareness among schools and communities and improved connections to services for school-age youth.

• Allow teachers to concentrate on teaching by providing comprehensive, culturally and linguistically appropriate services to support students in need of mental health care and those at-risk for behavioral mental health disorders.

• Promote positive mental health education and support for parents, siblings, and other family members of children with mental health disorders, as well as concerned members of the community.

• Create a total of $200 million in grant funding as well as educate the entire school community on the warning signs and symptoms of mental illness to help identify and treat mental health issues before they escalate.

The following Florida Representatives have already co-sponsored this bill as of 2/19/19:

Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24]*

Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9]*

Rep. Murphy, Stephanie N. [D-FL-7]*

Rep. Castor, Kathy [D-FL-14]*

Rep. Demings, Val Butler [D-FL-10]

Representatives Wilson, Soto, Murphy, and Castor were original co-sponsors of the bill.

If your Representative is already a co-sponsor, consider sending a thank you to them. You can access their contact information by clicking the Representative’s link above.

If you are not sure of your Congressional District or who your Representative is, find your representative here: https://whoismyrepresentative.com/

If your Representative has not yet co-sponsored this bill, you can contact them and request they co-sponsor H.R. 1109 as follows:

For current ACA members: Click the link below to log in and send your message:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/0eGVbgW-ooBOYcMYgTtwag

Contact your Representative directly and request that they co-sponsor H.R. 1109. You can identify your member of Congress and access e-mail, phone number, and mailing address information here:

https://whoismyrepresentative.com/

*summary text on H.R. 1109 resourced from ACA legislative alert 2/15/19.