Mental Health Parity act/ autism

[Guest guest]

I am forwarding this piece of disturbing news to you that I was just

notified about.

The State Senate has changed the language of this bill that was

passed

by

the House the week prior. Please forward this to Everyone that you

can

think

of in order to give them

the opportunity to make phone calls and or emails regarding this

Bill.

They are scheduling a public hearing on this on Monday the 18th in

which

they

will be listening to testimony. We need to act fast on this since it

will

effect a large number of our children in the state. The link at the

bottom

of this email will let you retrieve the information to contact your

local

representative as well as members of the committee.

I am going to try and attend the hearings on Monday and testify

myself.

Please do what you can to speak out for our children.

Chuck Provance

Parent of a Child with Autism

Special Children Support Group

216-780-2508

-----Original Message-----

From: notify [mailto:notify ]On

Behalf

Of

pcrawfo1

Sent: Friday, December 15, 2006 8:24 AM

cprovance@...

Subject: Fwd: Emergency! Thousands in State of Ohio will lose MH

services-Please Make Calls!

Included are: The issue with the capital bill, phone numbers of who

to call and the captial bill lines 54-70.

It came to my attention on Tuesday, December 12th that there was

some language added to the Capital Bill that would eliminate many

services for children with autism.

Services like: crisis intervention, assessment and diagnosis, case

management, medication management, psychiatry, and behavior

interventions.

Remember: A lot of families in the state of Ohio that are on MRDD

wait list are getting some services through Mental Health.

This bill has made it through the House and is now going to be voted

on by the Senate. I spent most of the day meeting with Senators and

I need your help. I need you and everyone you know to get on the

phone to your Senator and the list of senators we have included and

let them know your concerns! The names I have provided you with are

the Senators that will be voting on this issue on Monday morning. If

it passes all autistic children in the state that recieve any Mental

Health services will be gone as of January 2007---2 weeks! I have

included the main points/issues that you should bring to their

attention.

When you talk to a Senator or their aide, do not be surprised if

they have no idea what you are talking about. When meeting with some

of them today, we were informed that the bill is over 1000 pages

long and the new language that we are referring to was just

added on Tuesday. Educate them!

• Captial Bill: page 215 lines 54-70: This paragraph discusses who

is eligible for Mental Health Services. The language will exclude

individuals with autism. Autism falls under the mental retardation

and developmental disabilities section of the language.

• The national standard to be eligible for mental health services is

that the individual have a diagnosis that is in the DSM-IV (the

psychology diagnostic manual). Autism is in the DSM-IV, which makes

it a mental health diagnosis.

• The Senators or aides might say things like this should be the

responsibility of the schools/education. Make it clear to them that

this would eliminate our children from receiving any services

through the mental health system including crisis intervention,

psychiatric treatment, case management, assessment and diagnostic

services, interpreter services, and medication/pharmacologic

management. None of these particular services have anything at all

to do with education.

• Let them know that we understand that there are issues with

funding and services and that us parents are more than willing to

work with them to find solutions for our children, but this is not

the answer. We need time to come up with a solution. That is all we

are asking for ----TIME! Changes happening this fast will impact

thousands of families state wide.

• As of yesterday, when I was talking to Senators, they did not know

when hearings on this issue would occur. I found out today that

testimony/hearings took place this morning. There was no public

notice, us parents/stakeholders did not have an opportunity to voice

our concerns. This is not the normal practice. They need to hold a

public hearing and listen to testimony .

• Refer them to Senator Stivers if they have questions!

Please make phone calls!! I will keep you updated as I know more.

Thanks so much! Please make calls!

Marla Root, Parent

Finance Committee Members, all phone numbers are area code 614

Carey, Chair

466-8156

Ron Amstutz

466-7505

Steve Austria

466-3780

Cates

466-8072

Clancy

466-8068

Randy Gardener

466-8060

Tom Niehaus

466-8082

Joy Padgett

466-8076

Tom (Ranking Democrat)

466-6247

Captial Bill lines 54-70

Eligibility for state and federal funding shall be contingent upon

an approved plan or relevant part of a plan. The department may

provide state and federal fundina for services included in a plan

only if the services are for individuals whose focus of treatment or

prevention is a mental disorder according to the edition of the

American psvchiatric association's diagnostic and statistical manual

of mental disorders that is current at the time the funding is

provided. This may include such services for individuals who have a

mental disorder and a co-occurring substance use disorder.

substance-induced disorder. chronic dementina oraanic mental

disorder. mental retardation. or developmental disability. The

de~artment may not provide state or federal fundina under a plan

for a service for individuals whose focus of treatment or

prevention is solely a substance use disorder. substance-induced

disorder. chronic dementinq oraanic mental disorder. mental

retardation. or developmental disability.

http://www.senate.state.oh.us/senators/

Above is the email address where you can put your info in and get

your senators in your area as well.

--- End forwarded message ---