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• Support S.B. 45 is in Senate Banking & Insurance TODAY at noon EST. SB 45 would end a practice in which insurance companies refuse to count funds received as grants and coupons from pharmaceutical companies toward a patient's deductible. It's a complicated situation, as most things with insurance are, but here is a Newsweek article that helps explain it the clearest. Please call the LRC Message Line at 1-800-372-7181 and ask all of the Senate Banking & Insurance Committee to vote YES on S.B. 45.
• Support H.B. 148 which ends the death penalty for individuals with severe mental illness is in House Judiciary Committee this Wednesday, 2/24, at 12pm EST. Please call the LRC Message Line at 1-800-372-7181 and tell the House Judiciary Committee to vote YES on H. B. 148 to protect individuals with serious mental illness from the death penalty!
• SUPPORT HCR 7 which would establish a Severe Mental Illness Task Force to study issues impacting adults with severe mental illness, is in House Health & Family Services Committee Wednesday, 2/24, at 9am EST. Please call the LRC message line at 1-800-372-7181 and ask the House Health & Family Services Committee to vote YES on HCR 7!
• SUPPORT H.B. 50: Mental Health Parity Bill has been assigned to the Senate Health & Welfare Committee! This bill requires insurers to demonstrate compliance with federal law in how they design and apply managed care techniques for mental health and addiction treatment to ensure coverage is no more restrictive than for any other medical condition. Stay tuned for action!
  • History of Mental Health Parity, in case you want to know more
• SUPPORT H.B. 38: Psychological Intrajurisdictional Compact: will allow psychologists to working 13 states who have already agreed to the compact, without requiring additional licensing fees. It has also been assigned to the Senate! Stay tuned for action!
  • More from KPA.org on this bill  
• SUPPORT H.B. 126 Increases the amount of damage or property loss that constitutes a felony from the very old standard of $100 to $500-$1,000.00. Felony status affects many parts of mental wellness - employment, housing, even relationships. It should not be applied inappropriately. Increasing the damage from a very old standard of $100 to $500 - still less than the cost of the average cell phone - is an important step to bring the law up to date and more closely reflect its original intent.  This bill has also been assigned to the Senate. Stay tuned for action!
• SUPPORT H.B. 19 and S.B. 30: Youth Mental Health Protection Act
  • These bills have not yet been assigned to committee. Please use this link to contact legislators and ask them to send H.B. 19 and S.B. 30 to the Licensing & Occupations Committee. 
  • Want to know more? Check out The Bell Podcast episode featuring BCTK.
• SUPPORT S.B. 21  This bill allows homeless youth to receive mental health treatment without requiring parent permission. This speeds up the process for treating these teens who have too often faced trauma, abuse, and neglect. The bill also contains legalities about transporting teens from hospitals without psych units to appropriate care facilities. It quickly passed through Senate committee and the Senate floor. It has been received in the House. Stay tuned for action!
• SUPPORT H.B. 77 which mandates insurers cover a mental health examination each year in the same way they cover physical health examinations. While this bill is not expected to move this year, we do hope it starts conversations on furthering B4Stage4 thinking around early detection and intervention of mental health issues.
• Support H.B. 44 which would allow firefighters to join Crisis Intervention Training through CIT Kentucky. This bill also appropriates funding for Post-Trauma Stress Injuriy and Post Trauma Stress Disorder for firefighters. It has been assigned to the House Appropriations & Revenue Committee. Stay tuned for news on this bill!
• Support H.B. 305 to establish an official Mental Health Flag in Kentucky. This bill has been assigned to the House State Government Committee but hasn't been given a hearing date yet.
  • More information on this from the Pete Foundation.

This list is not comprehensive of all legislation related to mental health and wellness, but we've done our best to highlight the most important ones.

16,078 screenings in 2020!

That's record-breaking.

The entirety of 2019 had 4,773 screenings. This is a 234% increase in screenings in a single year.

What does it mean? People are thinking about and checking on their mental health more than ever. And they're turning to MHA Kentucky to do it.

Three-quarters of people screened positive for moderate to severe symptoms of a mental illness. More than half were not receiving any kind of treatment when they took the screening.
People are waiting too long to seek or receive treatment, even a mental health screening.

These screenings are reaching our youth in Kentucky in ways no other efforts have. 11-17 year olds were the most common takers of our screenings, making up 33% of them. 18-24-year-olds are the second most common at 29% of takers. These groups are more likely to research information online and to experience mental health issues for the first time. Thankfully, our screenings have good self-help information and link them to hotlines, care providers in their area, and more.

Over 9,000 people reported "Loneliness and Social Isolation" contributed to their poor mental health.
We must find new and engaging ways to connect with each other, especially for students and young adults.
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The COVID-19 pandemic and its related issues have hurt our collective mental well-being. Now is the time to have awkward conversations with our kids, our loved ones, even ourselves. Help is always available at 1-800-273-8255 or text "MHA" to 741741.

Resources to start:
Talk to Kids
When Is It Time To Talk
Talking to Adolescents
MHFA "Awkward Conversation" Archives

Kentuckians want access to mental health resources. We're responding to that need by providing even more materials in the coming months. We're also advocating for funding and regulatory to changes that improve the mental health system. We're elevating best practices and evidence-informed interventions at all stages. You're a part of all of it.

You can continue to help by spreading the word, taking a Mental Health First Aid course, joining us for QPR training (registration to come), and staying engaged. See the many ways below you can get involved this week.