My is Andrew K. Stith from Hampton, Virginia. I am here to speak on my personal story or summary on how an unknown, never tested, never let my mother know about that all learning difficulties that I had found in my Jr. year in college while following me in the military to present day life. With hard work, failing courses, taking harsh criticism and people told me that I would not be anything as well make it in college, I completed schools and never quit, drop out of school, went to jail, and still striving to be better day by day. Also, I would like to have some bill to law to give and make sure that all birth medical records and school records should be given to all parents and guardians to pass down to each child and the State of Virginia should have a depository these records for the individual have a chance to to obtain until death. The reason that I am proposing this because the individual should not have go through a treasure hunt to get answers for each individuals owns health, family historical reasons and the hospital and/or the establishment is no long there. I plan writing a story, would like to work with city, state and federal governments and importantly, I would the State of Virginia to work hard and quickly to pass the TBI Bill (Traumatic Brain Injuries) for people who suffer on a daily basis. This covers past, present and future military servicemembers, born and had birth defects, accidents, athletes, and other reasons that has not been stated here. Thank you, Andrew K. Stith

VSC NAACP supports HB1614

Good Afternoon Chair Tran and Committee Members, My name is Jennifer Spangler. I am speaking on behalf of myself, a mother who lives with a mental illness. Woman who have disabilities need a doula because medical professionals don't always have an understanding of our medical needs. Despite complete transparency during my entire pregnancy my OB practice failed to deliver postpartum care to ensure I remained mentally well. I assumed my OB understood my needs, specifically for sleep, an oversight I paid dearly for when I suffered a postpartum hemorrhage. Birth trauma lingers. My daughter is a healthy 13 year old. And yet those first 4 months feel (at times) as if it was just last month. Please ensure women with disabilities have a doula. Support HB 1614. Give women the beautiful birth story every mom deserves. Increase the number of visits and length of time. We need them. Thank you.

Progress Virginia strongly supports this bill and all bills that will help minimize the crisis of Black maternal mortality in the Commonwealth.

As someone who works for an organization focused on the employment and training of individuals with barriers to employment (including homeless and those with disabilities), I urge members of the committee to vote in the affirmative for HB1617, HB1723, and HB2696. HB1617 will make it easier for homeless youth to acquire the documents they need for employment by waiving the associated fees for these documents. Food insecurity is a major issue for those with barriers to employment - in many cases even while employed. HB1723's establishment of a task force to improve access to food assistance programs would maximize participation in these programs and help to end hunger in Virginia. I also support HB2696 as it can benefit those that are blind or visually impaired,

Comments Document

SchoolHouse Connection supports HB 1617 because we believe it will remove barriers that many youth experiencing homelessness have relative to accessing vital documents.

To be submitted separately.

I'm a volunteer with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and I support this bill. Violence intervention programs provide evidence and community-informed, comprehensive support to individuals who are at greatest risk of gunshot victimization. These programs are shown to reduce gunshot woundings and deaths in the neighborhoods most impacted by gun violence.

I am Dr. Michel Aboutanos , I am a trauma Surgeon and chief of trauma at VCU Level 1 trauma center with more than 20 years experience in trauma care seeing countless suffering and lives that could have been saved with well sustained and funded violence prevention and intervention programs . For this reason, we created Bridging the GAP (BTG) program, which is an evidence based, Hospital-Community based, Violence Prevention and Intervention program (HVIP) , with demonstrated 70% reduction in violence recidivism and reinjury. This is achieved by an amazing and tireless team of violence interrupters, case managers, and counselors. We have spread our BTG model across Virginia and established multiple HVIP that are making a tremendous difference . The main and essential challenge for every one of our evidence based programs remains funding and sustainability!! Supporting HB 1720 is vital to help provide sustainable resources and allow Medicaid to support the myriad of wrap around social services to stop the cycle of violence. It is a small ask that makes a huge difference. We urge you to move HB 1720 out of committee! thank you for listening and for your consideration. Michel Aboutanos Trauma surgeon / trauma medical director & Director of VCU’s Injury & Violence Prevention program

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence strongly supports this policy. Community Violence Intervention (CVI) is an evidence-based public health approach to stopping cycles of interpersonal violence. CVI programs equipped with outreach workers, mentors, and advocates, engage directly with those most at risk of committing violence or themselves being victimized, and work to implement conflict resolution. These programs provide services ranging from mediation, to the provision of holistic social services. A strong body of public health research shows that targeted, sustained investments in violence prevention services are effective at promoting trauma recovery and reducing risk of violent reinjury. In fact, communities have seen dramatic decreases in violence after funding community violence prevention and intervention programs, including hospital-based intervention programs. Virginia has the chance to follow in the footsteps of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Oregon and pass a law to authorize Medicaid funding for intervention services. Adding a Medicaid violence prevention benefit would be a significant step toward enhancing public health infrastructure to reduce community violence and improve overall well-being in Virginia. A violence prevention benefit would allow violence prevention professionals to receive financial reimbursement through Medicaid to provide services to existing Medicaid patients who have been personally injured, exposed to chronic community violence, or those at significant risk of violent injury, as determined by licensed health care providers. Hospitals are reluctant to introduce this intervention without a clear and sustainable funding stream, and Virginia has the chance to provide them with one. In order to stop cycles of violence and address the growing gun violence epidemic, day-to-day community violence cannot be overlooked. Communities need to be equipped with evidence-based strategies to reduce violence and address root causes through community-centered and supported approaches. This bill will codify and sustain such funding in Virginia and will meaningfully address gun violence prevention

I am a volunteer with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, the volunteer arm of Everytown for Gun Safety, and I also serve on the Virginia Community Violence Coalition. I am writing to express strong SUPPORT for HB 1720, which would allow violence prevention professionals to be reimbursed by Virginia’s Medicaid program Virginia has invested in several Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs (HVIPs), which provide services to individuals who have been shot to help interrupt cycles of retaliation. However, we know that most victims of community gun violence are either uninsured or on Medicaid, and our Violence Intervention and Prevention Organizations need sustainable resources. Allowing Medicaid to support some of their services would make a significant difference in their ability to continue providing these services. Please support HB 1720 and move it out of committee. Thank you. Marilyn Adams Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America; Virginia Community Violence Coalition

Comments Document

To the House Health and Human Services - Social Services Committee, The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention strongly urges your support for House Bill 1720, which would direct the Board of Medical Assistance Services to amend the state plan for medical assistance services to include a provision for payment of medical assistance for violence prevention services. This legislation would create a sustainable funding stream for critical, evidence-based, anti-violence programming throughout the Commonwealth. Our organization represents over 50 hospital-based violence intervention programs nationwide, including a network of programs throughout Virginia. In our attached written testimony, we have outlined in detail the health benefits of such an approach as well as critical cost-effectiveness data. For these reasons, we urge the committee to vote favorably on this life-saving legislation.

My name is Mike McLively and I am the Policy Director of the GIFFORDS Center for Violence Intervention. WE are part of GIFFORDS, a national gun violence prevention organization named after former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head in 2011 while hosting an event for her constituents. I am writing to express our strong SUPPORT for HB 1720, which would allow violence prevention professionals to be reimbursed by Virginia’s Medicaid program for their lifesaving services. Violence is a public health crisis in the US and in Virginia, where more than 1,000 people are shot and either killed or injured every single year. This creates untold human suffering and also extreme economic costs. One of the most effective solutions to violence is to provide intervention services to the small population of individuals at highest risk of engaging in violence. Virginia has wisely invested in the expansion of several Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs (HVIPs), which provide such services to individuals who have been shot to help interrupt cycles of retaliation. However, these kinds of programs need sustainable resources and allowing Medicaid to support some of their services would help put some of these costs onto the federal government, which offers significant matching funds for services provided to Medicaid expansion populations. We know that most victims of community gun violence are either uninsured or on Medicaid, so an investment in evidence-informed violence prevention services is one that will pay for itself. Given the relatively small size of the violence prevention professional workforce in Virginia, this is a policy that will not have a significant price tag, but offers the potential for saving both lives and taxpayer dollars. Virginia would join eight other states that have taken this step, including North Carolina, Connecticut, Oregon, and Maryland. This bill also calls for the creation of a work group to work with DMAS to ensure that implementation is carried out with input from the field. In short, this is an important policy and a tool for saving lives from violence in Virginia. It has nothing to do with guns or Second Amendment rights, which is something that members from both sides of the isle should be able to support. We urge you to move HB 1720 out of committee and thank you for your consideration. With thanks, Mike McLively Policy Director GIFFORDS Center for Violence Intervention mmclively@giffords.org

LeadingAge Virginia supports House Bill 1723 and requests the subcommittee to approve the bill.

As someone who works for an organization focused on the employment and training of individuals with barriers to employment (including homeless and those with disabilities), I urge members of the committee to vote in the affirmative for HB1617, HB1723, and HB2696. HB1617 will make it easier for homeless youth to acquire the documents they need for employment by waiving the associated fees for these documents. Food insecurity is a major issue for those with barriers to employment - in many cases even while employed. HB1723's establishment of a task force to improve access to food assistance programs would maximize participation in these programs and help to end hunger in Virginia. I also support HB2696 as it can benefit those that are blind or visually impaired,

Sent to Lester (Morefield) via house.

Please vote YES for HB1762 which would give people with SSDI but who do not have Medicare yet the ability to have Medicaid. This would benefit people in particular who are on the Medicaid Waiver Waitlist and who do not have any medical coverage. These people with SSDI will eventually after the time period passes be given Medicare coverage. Eventually, these same people would also have access to Medicare. This should be extended to them now when they are in this gap period. Please vote YES for HB1762