ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Today, Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey and members of the Senate Republican Caucus joined their Democratic colleagues to announce a legislative package to improve behavioral health services in Maryland. Below are comments from the three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee who will be working on this package of legislation.
“Behavioral health is not a partisan issue,” Senator Hershey said. “It seems that everyone has a family member or friend who is grappling with mental health or substance use concerns. We know from decades of experience that those with behavioral health conditions can and do recover and move on with their lives, but it was particularly hard to do so without assistance.
This package of bills helps ensure that any Marylander struggling with a behavioral health issue can get the treatment and support needed to realize the same things we all want in life: to be successful in school or at work, to enjoy close relationships with family and friends and to live a life of purpose.
We have a great community of providers who are willing and able to carry out this mission. We as legislators can help by providing policies that allow and encourage flexibility and innovation in meeting the needs of kids, adults and our seniors and by seeking the financial resources to ensure that a qualified workforce stands ready to do the work.”
“These bills are a starting point, said Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready. “It has been widely mentioned that in order for these policies to be sustainable, they must be cost efficient. The Republican members of the Finance Committee look forward to working with our colleagues, leadership and stakeholders to move Maryland’s behavioral health system from good to great.”
“This legislative package is a bold and targeted statewide investment,” said Senator Johnny Mautz. “It’s going to improve accessibility and deliver results for citizens living on the Eastern Shore. It’s badly needed and I’m very pleased to support it.”
Good parenting usually eliminates most mental health issues, except with liberals…
I wonder if this session anything is going to be done about crime solvers? I get concerned crime solvers was set- up so that criminal defense attorneys could call- in on their clients + get rewarded! On the crime solvers website, it doesn’t say which cases were solved with crime solvers tips + it doesn’t say how much the tips were given. ($). What would a suspect do if their attorney called crime solvers on them? How would they prove it + what would happen to the attorney? Why was Crime Solvers allowed to be set- up so that attorneys could call- in on their clients?