It's Children's Mental Health Acceptance Week!

We're in the middle of Children's Mental Health Acceptance Week and the 2024 theme is "Lighting the Path to Social Justice for Children and Youth." But what is social justice? What does it mean for individuals, communities, and systems? The foundation of social justice is living the “golden rule,” treating others the way you would like to be treated - at every level.

As individuals, social justice means accepting each person for who they are – celebrating and embracing the diversity of our fellow man. It means accepting every member of our communities – welcoming their participation and contributions in all groups. At the system level, it means accepting that each person has their own unique strengths and goals - shaping supports and resources to be responsive to each person’s dreams. Learn more about social justice in mental health and substance use systems here. 

In essence social justice means:

• Equity at every level of society
• Ensuring that all members of our society are physically and psychologically safe and secure
• Giving every person the opportunity to live up to their full potential
• Supporting one another to live meaningful, purposeful lives.

To see a great video about the 2024 Children's Mental Health Acceptance Week campaign, click here.

New Policies Strengthen Language Access Protections in Health

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil rights (OCR) has posted its finalized regulation updating Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as the Health Care Rights Law. The final rule strengthens antidiscrimination requirements for recipients of federal health funding and in federal health programs, including prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, age, disability, and national origin. These changes will improve the quality and safety of health care for immigrants, women, LGBTQ+ communities, and individuals with disabilities. In particular, the new regulation strengthens requirements that health entities provide meaningful access to their programs for people with limited English proficiency (LEP).

The final rule applies to all entities that conduct or administer health-related programs or activities and receive financial assistance from HHS for any part of those activities.

To read more about the final regulations and the language access and civil rights implications, click here.