RE: SB 1302, Crisis Call Center Fund Dear Chair Sickles and Members of the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee: I am writing on behalf of Inseparable, a growing coalition of people from across the country who share a common goal to fundamentally improve mental healthcare policy to heal ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities. This year, as the recovery from the COVID pandemic begins, America cannot afford to let mental health care fall further behind. Because of the dramatic increase in mental health crises, it has never been more important to invest in mental health and addiction care policy and services. We applaud Senator McPike for introducing SB1302. The success of the new mental health emergency hotline (988) is dependent on a timely and well-resourced nationwide rollout. Key to this is securing expanded and sustainable funds for not only crisis centers, but also for the mental health workforce that will deal with expected increase in demand and provide follow-on services. Like other mental health advocacy groups in the state and nationally, we are concerned that the current $0.12 fee in the bill is not sufficient to cover vital costs. We ask you to please urgently revisit the financial costs that will be generated by the establishment of the hotline and revise the fee amount on the bill. While we appreciate that there are plans to make increases in the future, Virginians are suffering today and need adequate support now. Sincerely, Krithika Harish Inseparable.us

February 11, 2021 Delegate Mark D. Sickles, Chair HWI Committee Virginia General Assembly RE: SB 1302, Crisis Call Center Fund Dear Chair Sickles and Members of the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee: NAMI Virginia is part of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Our mission is to promote recovery and improve the quality of life of Virginians with mental illness through support, education and advocacy. We would like to express our gratitude to Senator McPike for introducing SB 1302, the Crisis Call Center Fund, and to the Committee for hearing this bill today. NAMI supports the vision outlined in the bill, but we believe the bill should be strengthened by small changes, which we believe are critical to meeting the needs of Virginians with serious mental illness. NAMI’s members frequently come to us in need of help and support after enduring life-shattering circumstances. Too often, those circumstances include law enforcement. I’d like to share two brief examples to highlight the pain of inadequate investment in a mental health crisis service system. Recently, a Virginia man reached out to NAMI, distraught. His sibling had been saying things that didn’t make sense and was increasingly paranoid and lashing out, sensing threats where none existed. After an altercation with his partner, who called 911, police came and arrested the man, who was experiencing psychosis and had a family history of serious mental illness. With his family’s advocacy, this man was eventually given a mental health examination. The man and his family were traumatized by the police intervention and the daunting and stigmatizing challenges of navigating the criminal justice system. If they had been able to call 988 and receive a mobile crisis team response instead of police, there would have been no arrest, no criminal record and legal fees, and far less trauma for this Virginia family. Instead, the family’s sole focus could have been on helping this man get the care that he needed – not navigating the criminal justice system. In another instance, a person with bipolar disorder became manic and confused and tried to leave the state. When the family called for help, police arrested their child and held him in jail. Desperate, the family spent heartbreaking hours and significant resources trying to obtain not only legal help, but mental health treatment for their beloved child. Despite their resources, they were unable to navigate an incomprehensible system that criminalizes people with serious mental illness. There are countless families in Virginia whose lives have been turned upside down because of the lack of a sufficient behavioral health crisis system in Virginia. While we appreciate that there are plans to gradually improve this, the slow pace of investment does not do justice to the lives of Virginians who are suffering today and who deserve an investment of more than $0.12 a month. We respectfully request that you reconsider the level of E-911 fee for the Crisis Call Center Fund, clarify that it can be used to support mobile crisis teams, and further clarify that the annual report should include not only recommendations on crisis system needs, but also a recommendation on fee levels needed in the future to support the level of mobile response needed for the complex and acute mental health needs in our communities throughout Virginia. Respectfully, Kathy Harkey, MAPP, BSP, BSMDS Executive Director

Although I am supportive of the National 9-8-8 Crisis Line, I am very concerned about linking the 9-1-1 and 9-8-8 funding. By linking the two, the National VDOT 9-1-1 Coordinator and FCC have ruled that Virginia would be considered as diverting 9-1-1 funds. Additionally, the 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) are not adequately funded. Currently the 9-1-1 Wireless Distribution, offsets an average of 12% of a PSAP's operating costs, and this is before the increases from moving to Next Generation Technology. I urge you to de-couple this Bill from 9-1-1. There will be significant value if 9-8-8 has a separate funding stream and separate visibility on carriers bills. Additionally, line 289 and 290 of the Senate Substitute Bill assigns in-house building repeaters as the number 2 priority. Although again while this important, it is restrictive and not the number 2 priority for 911 PSAPs. This should be removed, or at a minimum changed to "investments to improve location accuracy". I would like to speak, but I am receiving a message that requests to speak are closed. I have also reached out to Senator McPike, but have not been successful in getting a return call. I know others have submitted written comments on the Bill as well.

Delegate Mark D. Sickles, Chair Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee RE: SB 1302, Crisis Call Center Fund Dear Chair Sickles and Members of the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee: NAMI Virginia is part of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Our mission is to promote recovery and improve the quality of life of Virginians with mental illness through support, education and advocacy. We would like to express our gratitude to Senator McPike for introducing SB 1302, the Crisis Call Center Fund, and to the Committee for hearing this bill today. NAMI supports the vision outlined in the bill, but we believe the bill should be strengthened by small changes, which we believe are critical to meeting the needs of Virginians with serious mental illness. NAMI’s members frequently come to us in need of help and support after enduring life-shattering circumstances. Too often, those circumstances include law enforcement. I’d like to share two brief examples to highlight the pain of inadequate investment in a mental health crisis service system. Recently, a Virginia man reached out to NAMI, distraught. His sibling had been saying things that didn’t make sense and was increasingly paranoid and lashing out, sensing threats where none existed. After an altercation with his partner, who called 911, police came and arrested the man, who was experiencing psychosis and had a family history of serious mental illness. With his family’s advocacy, this man was eventually given a mental health examination. The man and his family were traumatized by the police intervention and the daunting and stigmatizing challenges of navigating the criminal justice system. If they had been able to call 988 and receive a mobile crisis team response instead of police, there would have been no arrest, no criminal record and legal fees, and far less trauma for this Virginia family. Instead, the family’s sole focus could have been on helping this man get the care that he needed–not navigating the criminal justice system. In another instance, a person with bipolar disorder became manic and confused and tried to leave the state. When the family called for help, police arrested their child and held him in jail. Desperate, the family spent heartbreaking hours and significant resources trying to obtain not only legal help, but mental health treatment for their beloved child. Despite their resources, they were unable to navigate an incomprehensible system that criminalizes people with serious mental illness. There are countless families in Virginia whose lives have been turned upside down because of the lack of a sufficient behavioral health crisis system in Virginia. While we appreciate that there are plans to gradually improve this, the slow pace of investment does not do justice to the lives of Virginians who are suffering today and who deserve an investment of more than $0.12 a month. We respectfully request that you reconsider the level of E-911 fees for the Crisis Call Center Fund, clarify that it can be used to support mobile crisis teams, and further clarify that the annual report should include not only recommendations on crisis system needs, but also a recommendation on fee levels needed in the future to support the level of mobile response needed for the complex, acute mental health needs in our Virginia communities. Respectfully yours, Kathy Harkey, MAPP, BSP, BSMDS Executive Director

On behalf of the Virginia adoption community - passing this bill is greatly needed. As an adoption practitioner 32+ years, past- president, long-time Fellow and Board of Trustee of the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys & co-author of the VA CLE Adoption Book - we need this law passed to support the legal stability of children in VA. There are so many situations I encounter on a monthly and even weekly basis - a mom co-parenting with an opioid addicted daughter and a deceased biological father, two foster parents not married and not in a romantic relationship co-parenting a child in need of a forever home with both of those parents, a former ex-boyfriend who helped co-parent for ten or more years with the ex-girlfriend still wanting him to be a recognized parent and a deceased biological father. There are so many more examples where kids just need both de facto - that is, in fact, parents made their legal parents but cannot do so under current VA law that requires they be a married couple. That is not the current reality for many children today. We need to bring Va law in line with the current reality of today’s kids and how they are being co-parented in many non-traditional ways - especially with the opioid crisis. This law is very much needed to protect today’s children. Those of us in the trenches can see this most clearly. Thank you.

When two loving parents raise a child they take on a moral and legal responsibility, but unfortunately our current legal system doesn't recognize a second parent and grant them the legal rights they deserve after accepting responsibility of raising the child because they are not of a different sex/gender than the legal parent. This needs to cease for the child's protection and for our community. We need not only to accept everyone to respect them for the roles they fill and give them the legal support they may need! Dani Butler 5800 Up A Way Drive Fredericksburg, VA 22407

I am writing in support of SB1321, in favor of allowing confirmatory adoption in Virginia. I am not personally impacted by this bill, but many in my community are. Children need the security that legally recognized parents can provide, and their lives are made more difficult when barriers exist that keep their parents from advocating on their behalf. I know this all too well, because I know what these barriers have meant for my own children at a different time and place. My young children had very good relations with both me and my spouse prior to, during, and after our divorce. However, a new magistrate who claimed she was "ordained by God to save the children" separated me from my children for the stated reason that I had advocated for marriage equality. She did this by declaring that she would not respect or enforce our shared parenting agreement and threatening to hold me in contempt if I complained, resulting in my ex refusing joint custody/visitation thereafter. I did not see my children again until they were adults. Even though I was a legal parent with full parental rights, these rights were not observed or respected in matters of education, healthcare, mental health, or faith. Eventually I was locked out of all communication and could obtain no further information about my children. I have since reconnected with both of my children as adults. Both suffered extreme psychological abuse, mental anguish and emotional harm because of our loss of contact. I was unavailable to protect them. Precious educational opportunities were also squandered (a full scholarship to a prestigious private school, admission privileges to my prestigious undergraduate university and financial aid at universities where I taught) because of my being blocked from advocating for them. They even suffered needless financial losses because of my inability to manage their educational accounts at particularly critical times. Children need security, and they need their parents, whether they are straight, gay, purple, or polka-dotted. Please give Virginia families the tools they need to ensure continuity of parenting so that that their children do not suffer as mine did. Please support SB1321.

This Bill is about equal rights!!! Different-sex couples are not forced to marry for both parents to have legal rights and responsibilities over their children, and same-sex couples shouldn’t be either. This bill simply extends the legal rights and responsibilities of parenthood to unmarried same-sex couples as well. Thank you for your work and dedication to represent all people in equality.

Only speak if needed. Legislative staff to the Commission on Youth.

Voices for Virginia’s children strongly supports this bill.

Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) is a recovery-oriented, evidence-based treatment program that targets young people with first episode psychosis. The coordinated team approach includes case management, psychotherapy, medication management, family education and support, supported employment and education and peer supports based on the individual’s needs and preferences. There are eight such programs across Virginia, four of which are located in Northern Virginia. As CEO of PRS, Inc., one of the four organization’s operating a CSC program in Northern Virginia, I cannot emphasize enough the positive impact these programs have on young adults and their families. Combined, these eight programs are currently treating just over 230 young adults; however, it is estimated that about 1,700 young adults will experience their first episode of psychosis each year. The Advisory Board proposed in this legislation will work with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) to establish fidelity standards for CSC programs and look for resources to enhance existing programs and expand services to underserved areas in the state.

Pay for privacy is unconstitutional. This can not pass. Virginia deserves privacy.

Legislative staff to the Commission on Youth. Available if needed. Background:  Federal KinGAP was established in Virginia in 2018 to facilitate placements with relatives and ensure permanency for children for whom adoption or being returned home are not appropriate permanency options.  The current Federal KinGAP has eligibility requirements imposed by the Federal Government that are too rigid and prevent its wider use. This bill creates a state program to expand its use to assist children in foster care achieve permanency through kinship placements, exiting the foster care system with financial supports. Explanation of SB 1328 costs:  Department of Social Services estimates a combined total of 90 children will be eligible to enter the State-Funded KinGAP in FY 2022 and 100 children will be eligible to enter in FY 2023 and every subsequent year.  Compared to last year’s bill, this year’s SB 1328 reduces costs and creates cost savings by: • Adding the requirement that the child be in the custody of the local department for at least 90 days. This requirement ensures that the program is targeting the correct population. • Including a second enactment clause to target children who have an appropriate relative who is willing to become their caregiver but is unable to complete the foster home approval requirements.  The Department of Social Services anticipates that these children will exit foster care sooner than they had prior to State-Funded KinGAP, thus saving the higher costs of being in foster care.  Funding for this year’s State KinGAP program has also been limited to room and board (maintenance cost), which will result in additional savings.  State-Funded KinGAP’s OCS costs (partially offset by DSS savings) will continue to grow every year until the number of children aging out equals the number entering the program, at which point the program will stabilize. Children will receive on average 10.5 years of State-Funded KinGAP basic maintenance payments.