Reestablishes a commission to study the delivery of behavioral crisis services to individuals with mental illness whose impairment is primarily due to intellectual disability.
reestablishing the commission to study the delivery of behavioral crisis services to individuals with mental illness with an impairment primarily due to intellectual disability.
This bill reinstates an important commission that passed last year but got started about two weeks before it was originally scheduled to end. This just restarts it with a generous time to operate. It allows professionals to find ways to care for people with behavioral problems due to Low IQ who currently by law only get housed, without treatment, in a hospital until they are simply released.
To the Chair of the House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs, My name is Nicole Sheaff, I am an occupational therapist, and mother/advocate of four children diagnosed with mental health and neurodevelopmental disabilities. I am also current trainee with LEND (Leadership Education for Neurodevelopmental Disability) at the Institute on Disability at UNH. I am requesting you support this bill with suggested amendments. My children began with struggling with developmental disabilities since birth, and over their school careers they experienced community/school isolation, seclusion, restraint, and learning differences. Overtime their stress manifested into anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideations. I now continue to advocate, and case manage for one adult child homeless in another state, another in adult services in NH, and two children still in school. My children have experienced the need for residential placement, out of district placement, and multiple crisis and emergency services. I have accessed emergency mental health services for all of my children, some more than others. For amendments, I request two more members be added to the committee, a self-advocate with IDD and mental health experience and another family member. I think each person has different experiences with mental health and emergency services and a balance between three legislators, three departments and three persons with lived experience in this topic will be crucial for this committees input on the barriers in services. I also request the committee meets at a minimum of six times per year, to gather information from various departments and organizations providing accurate information on how persons with IDD and Mental Health are currently accessing or not accessing emergency services. Again, I thank you for considering my amendments and for passing this bill. Sincerely, Nicole Sheaff Exeter, NH 603-793-8557 Nmsheaff@msn.com
Honorable Representatives, It is bittersweet for me to read this bill. I am happy to see that after Governor Ayotte had expressed the importance of addressing the mental health care needs of the state, within weeks there is a bill to address the deficiencies in access to care for our friends, families and neighbors who have intellectual disabilities. This will directly impact the 27,000 people in the state with an Intellectual Developmental Disability, whether or not they are currently in a crisis. It will also impact the countless people who care for these people. The proper care of each individual resident impacts each and every one of us. As a resident of this great state, I am happy to see that this need is not being ignored. It is difficult however to see that our fellow residents will have to wait to be given access to the care that everyone else receives. My cousin has been diagnosed with an Intellectual Disability, but thankfully he lives in another state where he is able to receive the care he needs, when he needs it. I am grateful that others have spoken up for the needs of the Intellectual Disability community so that finding the appropriate care is one less worry that he and my aunt need to have. As a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in the state of New Hampshire, I take seriously the mental health care that is provided to those I serve, and expect others in my field to do the same. This means that I follow the guidance of my code of ethics and I do not “condone… discrimination against prospective or current clients… based on… disability” (ACA Code of Ethics). This bill addresses a glaring need within the state. The agencies this bill will affect are the state funded agencies that are the safety net for our communities. Those with intellectual disabilities should be able to safely access crisis care in these locations. If there is a deficiency in competency of those providing the services, then we should question why this deficiency exists and address training instead of telling residents and their families that they need to seek private services. We cannot deny them care for their physical health; so why are we denying them care for their mental health? While a study committee is a long process for our neighbors to wait through, it is better than having nothing to hope for. There is a wise proverb that tells us “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time to plant a tree is today.” Let us plant a tree today so that our valued friends and family can have a future where their needs are being met. Thank You, Kevin Blanchette, LCMHC
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