Helping Young People Go Places |
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Dear Friend,
Right now, MHAP for Kids’ services are more critical than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health concerns among youth are increasing, families are facing extreme financial hardships, and our mental health care system is strained. Our MHAP for Kids attorneys are fighting to ensure children in vulnerable situations can access the mental health services they need amid the public health crisis.
“…Among adolescents who received any mental health services during 2012 to 2015, 35% received their mental health services exclusively from school settings. School closures will be especially disruptive for the mental health services of that group. It is important to also understand that school closures will be relatively more disruptive for the mental health care of some youths. Adolescents in racial and ethnic minority groups, with lower family income, or with public health insurance were disproportionately likely to receive mental health services exclusively from school settings.”
MHAP for Kids attorneys are uniquely trained to address the issues that make it so difficult for children to access mental health services. Since the full onset of the pandemic in March, our MHAP for Kids team have helped hundreds of children access mental health services, conducted numerous trainings on children’s rights to mental health, and authored a tool kit for advocating for children with special education and mental health needs. We are pleased to highlight some of these ways we have responded to pandemic.
Thank you for your continued support!
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Marisol Garcia, Esq.
Director/ Managing Attorney
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American Bar Association Spotlights MHAP for Kids as National Model for Best Practice During Pandemic |
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Within days of Governor Baker’s declaration of a state of emergency, while continuing uninterrupted legal advocacy for our clients, MHAP for Kids authored a tool kit for advocating for children with special education needs, published nationally by the American Bar Association (ABA). MHAP for Kids Director/Managing Attorney Marisol Garcia also presented on this topic at a national webinar on April 30th co-sponsored by the ABA and the Alliance for Children’s Rights on “Advocating for Special Education Needs: Best Practices to Support Children in a Time of Crisis.”
Since March of 2020, MHAP for Kids attorneys have trained hundreds of families, advocates, and service providers on the impact of COVID-19 on education and access to mental health services.
At its Spring Meeting, the ABA Commission on Homelessness and Poverty spotlighted MHAP for Kids as a model for best practice locally and nationally. Marisol Garcia presented a white paper, co-authored with Patricia Elliott, DrPH, Clinical Assistant Professor of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, who has been an evaluator of our program since 2014, on MHAP for Kids’ effective response to mental health barriers exacerbated by the current public health crisis.
The membership of the ABA Commission, consisting of attorneys from across the country with a special interest or expertise in the areas of homelessness and poverty, is eager to learn about the work of MHAP for Kids as it relates to systemic advocacy within the mental health system and ensuring access to both health care and educational supports for children. The Commission promoted the MHAP for Kids’ successful outcomes and encouraged partnerships with other states to foster replication or a similar model. MHAP for Kids aligns with the Commission’s goal of promoting access to prevention services (through legal representation and social services) and the Commissions seeks to explore areas of future collaboration.
Resources:
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Pictured: Torie Argus, MHAP for Kids attorney, conducting a webinar on special education advocacy during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
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The State's Childhood Trauma Task Force Recommends Funding to Expand
MHAP for Kids Statewide
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The Task Force's report states that "(d)uring this COVID-19 pandemic, many children are living through traumatic and stressful experiences that may have a significant, long-term impact on their mental health." The Task Force, chaired by the Office of the Child Advocate, Maria Moissaides, writes that youth in under-resourced communities are at even greater risk at this time because "(e)xisting racial, ethnic, and income disparities in our state are being further exacerbated by this pandemic, and the current pandemic- related trauma is compounding the high levels of trauma many children and families in these communities were already experiencing." Further, the task force declares "(o)ur current behavioral health system cannot adequately meet the needs of children during this crisis." To help combat this crisis, the task force endorsed “funding to expand MHAP for Kids statewide to help improve children’s access to mental health services.”
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FACRA Board Members Strongly Encourage Support for and Expansion of MHAP for Kids |
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Pictured: HLA's MHAP for Kids Team |
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MHAP for Kids was highlighted in the “7th Annual Report of the Families and Children Requiring Assistance (FACRA) Advisory Board on Recommendations Relative to the Implementation of Section 16U of Chapter 6A”. The FACRA board indicated that: “To stabilize and address the needs of youth identified as Children Requiring Assistance (CRA) or experiencing CRA-related issues, many Advisory Board members strongly encourage continued support for and expansion of the Mental Health Advocacy Program for Kids (MHAP for Kids).” The FACRA board praised the work of MHAP for Kids: “Serving more than 500 children since March 2017, an evaluation conducted by the Boston University School of Public health found that MHAP for Kids significantly improved the overall mental health of children, significantly reduced parental rates of depression and reduced family conflict. Additionally, school attendance was improved and use of emergency mental health services by children decreased.”
MHAP for Kids staff attorneys are embedded in the Family Resource Centers (FRCs) created by a Massachusetts state law: “An Act Relative to Families and Children Engaged in Services," Chapter 240 of the Acts of 2012. That legislation also created the FACRA Board to oversee the FRCs. As mandated by the law, the FACRA Board is comprised of state official and community-based child welfare stakeholders. The Board advises the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) on the law’s implementation, collects data, and makes recommendations to the Governor and Legislators for program funding.
The FACRA Board issued its 7th report in January of 2020 in accordance with the laws requirement to submit an annual report to the Governor and Legislators. The FACRA Board noted the demand for FRC services as well as the “ongoing reports and data analyses show that the services at the FRCs are being utilized and are having a positive impact on their communities”. Then, the FACRA board “respectfully request[ed] that when debating fiscal obligations, investments in FRCs continue to be prioritized.”
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Welcome Toni Kokenis to the MHAP for Kids Team! |
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We are thrilled to introduce you to our new incoming MHAP for Kids Staff Attorney for the program's Boston office, Toni Kokenis! She will be embedded in the Boston/Suffolk Family Resource Center operated by The Home for Little Wanderers. Toni is coming to us from the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families where she serves as Counsel, working closely with clinical staff through case consultations and mediation. Her previous experience includes clerking for the First Justice Jay D. Blitzman at the Juvenile Court of Middlesex County, and interning for the Advocating Success for Kids Program at Boston Children’s Hospital. Toni was recently a Teaching Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. She earned her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in 2018. |
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2019-20 MHAP for Kids Client Racial Demographics |
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MHAP for Kids has attorneys based in seven cities: Boston, Holyoke, Lynn, Lowell, New Bedford, Quincy, and Worcester. Six of these cities have among the state's top 20 highest rates for COVID-19 infection as of late July, with the seventh ranking 46th. As a result, we have been able to serve some of the communities and families most impacted by the pandemic. Our program also serves a high percentage of youth of color, who have also been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. |
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Thank You
To the Generous Supporters of MHAP for Kids
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Lead Supporters
Department of Children and Families
Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation
Foundations
Fish Family Foundation
Essex County Community Foundation
Ludcke Foundation
Gardiner Howland Shaw Foundation
Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts
Beveridge Family Foundation
Cabot Family Charitable Trust
Charles H. Hall Foundation
State Agencies
Attorney General's Office
Department of Youth Services
Health Policy Commission
Probation Service
Corporate Supporters
Boston Children's Hospital
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
Grant Recipient Partners
Boston Medical Center Health System
Community Care Cooperative
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