2010 Session: Stay Informed and Express Your Opinion
January 2010
This past year has been hard on many service providers because of the cuts in funding. It is of vital importance to our families that services be maintained and even improved in order to protect the welfare of those who experience mental illnesses. Stay informed and express your opinion so that the already limited funds are spent in a way most beneficial for our families and the community.
The 2010 Session convenes January 13, 2010. Follow the various bills and to find information on contacting your representatives.
- Bills & Resolutions — Find the status of individual bills and related information.
- General Assembly Members — Find member sponsored legislation.
- Standing Committees — Find the legislation referred to committee.
- State Budget — Find budget bills, committees and summaries.
- Daily Floor Calendars — Find legislative agendas.
- Communications — Find legislation communicated between houses.
- House Minutes/Senate Minutes — Find a record of floor sessions.
- Meetings — Find the House and Senate committee’s meeting schedule.
- Statistics — Find session statistics.
- Lobbyist-in-a-Box — Find a subscription-based bill tracking service.
- Cumulative Index — Find a subject index of bills and resolutions.
The following are some key issues that NAMI Virginia has listed on their web site. You can track items of special interest on the NAMI web site.
Key proposals in the introduced budget include:
- Closing the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents by June 30, 2009.
- Closing the adolescent unit at Southwestern Virginia Mental Health Institute by June 30, 2009.
- Reducing rates by 16% for intensive in-home services for children and adolescents.
- Reducing residential psychiatric facility rates by 1%.
- Reducing rates for therapeutic behavioral services by 5%.
Ideas for How to Share Your Story
- How would you, your family, or someone you know be affected by the proposed cuts?
- How have services helped you? What has worked?
- What has your experience been with trying to access needed services in the community? What challenges and difficulties have you faced? What would have made it better?
- What are your hopes for a future with adequate funding? What would it look like?
FACES wants to help you stay informed so that you can make the choices which you desire to promote the health and welfare of yourself, your family and your community.