SCHOLARSHIPS ARE LIVE!



We encourage the education and empowerment of young people with social, emotional, behavioral health, and cross-system challenges by offering scholarships to the University of Youth Power (UYP). Youth, young adults, and Youth Peer Advocates, ages 18-30, that exemplify leadership qualities are encouraged to apply for a scholarship.

If selected for a scholarship, you can attend UYP for FREE.

2024 Session Overview!

The New York State legislative session officially ended on June 6th. This was a long and hard fought time for our advocacy. As per usual, it is a mixed bag. However there are a great many victories worth celebrating! Here is a brief summary and some highlights related to our policy positions! Some of these are included from last month and some are brand new updates. 

The Victories!

• Commercial Insurance plans are now mandated to reimburse certain outpatient mental health and addiction service providers at least on par with Medicaid reimbursements.
• 2.84% COLA for human services. Although this falls short of the 3.2 we advocated for to keep up with inflation, this is another good step in addressing the workforce crisis affecting mental health providers. 
• Extended telehealth rate parity for 2 more years. This ensures that telehealth, an option that has expanded access to NYS families, remains on the table for several more years. We still hope to see this change become permanent. 
• The State Education department will phase out Regents exams and make them optional while providing alternative methods of getting their diploma such as presentations, projects, or internships. This is a long fought win and FTNYS is very pleased NYSED is making these changes. This will help all students but especially those with disabilities whom high stakes testing has always had a disproportionate impact on. 
• SAFE for Kids Act and the Child Data Privacy Act, which mitigates the impact of social media on youth mental health, passed the legislature and will be delivered to the governor where she is expected to sign. 
• A.9321-B (Hevesi)/S.8724-B (Hoylman-Sigal) — Safe Landings Act — Aims to protect and ensure support for young persons exiting foster care by authorizing the Family Court to enforce orders on behalf of children after they are discharged from, or age out of, foster care. For example, a young person can return to the court and be appointed a lawyer if they are still in need of stable housing or other necessary services for their transition to adulthood. Passed both houses: the Senate unanimously, the Assembly by a large margin.

Where we need more advocacy

• We did not pass the Solutions Not Suspensions Act (A5691 Solages) this year. This legislation would promote evidence based changes to school discipline. 
• A5191 (Gonzalez-Rojas)/S356 (Jackson), known as the Student to Mental Health Professional Staff Ratio Bill, remains in committee. This bill ensures that all elementary, intermediate, middle, junior and senior high schools throughout New York State have a full-time licensed social worker and a full-time licensed psychologist.
• The Anti Harassment in Reporting Act, A2479 (Hevesi) / S902 (Brisport), actually passed the senate and was experiencing political roadblocks in the assembly. As of right now it has not passed. 
• A1980 (Walker)/S901 (Brisport), known as the CPS Miranda Bill of Rights Act, did not pass this year. 
• Daniel's Law A2210 (Bronson)/S2398 (Brouk) to establish a comprehensive community mental health emergencies response that does not rely on police. This bill unfortunately did not pass this year. 
• A.4027-A (Kim)/S.7054-B (Hoylman-Sigal) — End automatic child support referrals upon foster care entry Some New York counties collect approximately $2.3 million a year on “foster care child support” cases, likely spending $6 million in child support administrative costs and delaying reunification. This bill did not pass this year. 
• A.8923-A (Hevesi)/S.1099-A (Bailey), also known as Right2RemainSilent, prohibits police from engaging in custodial interrogation of a child under the age of 18 until the child has consulted with an attorney. This unfortunately did not pass this year. 
• Informed Consent for Drug Testing Parents and Babies — Requires medical care providers to seek the informed consent of pregnant people and new mothers before they or their babies are drug tested. Did not pass.
• A.438 (O’Donnell)/S.3426 (Myrie) — Youth Justice & Opportunities Act (YJ&O) — Expands alternatives to incarceration, diversion, and immediate record sealing for young people who are arrested in New York. Did not pass.

Civil Rights Panel Highlights Widespread Discrimination Against Black Families in New York’s Child Welfare System

FTNYS NOTE: Among many recommendations we strongly support such as strengthening the social safety net, reducing exposure to the child welfare system, and addressing concrete needs of families such as income, food and housing, the report also recommends investments in “Peer Support programs and community-based programs that can provide timely, informal, and supportive peer care to parents to keep challenges from becoming crises.” FTNYS has been operating a Family Peer Advocates pilot program in Erie county focused on parents at-risk or involved with CPS and has Family Policy Advisors in every OCFS Regional Field Office promoting peers as a resource for families.

https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/civil-rights-panel-highlights-widespread-discrimination-against-black-families-in-new-yorks-child-welfare-system/249808

Hochul considers smartphone ban for New York schools, citing student mental health concerns

“Gov. Kathy Hochul is mulling how to get smartphones out of New York schools as city and state officials grapple with the potential harmful effects of social media and other online platforms on youth mental health.

This week, Hochul said smartphones should not be available to students during the school day, adding that she is exploring ways to make that happen next year. The governor and other city and state officials say social media platforms are designed to be addictive, harm young people’s mental health, and create avenues for bullying.

“They’re living in this dark place where there’s this FOMO — fear of missing out — that if they put down their device for one second, that someone might be saying something about them, or they’ve got to respond to something,” Hochul told reporters on Tuesday. “This is how addictive it is. We have to liberate them from this. We have to just draw a line now and say, ‘No. Enough is enough.’””

https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2024/05/30/kathy-hochul-considers-smartphone-ban-amid-student-mental-health-concerns/

FEEDBACK NEEDED: Daniel's Law Task Force Research and Planning Surveys

The Daniel’s Law Task Force and the State of New York need feedback on crisis services from impacted people and their families. The Daniel’s Law Task Force was established to identify potential operational and financial needs to support trauma-informed, community and public health-based crisis responses for anyone in the state experiencing a mental health, alcohol use, and/or substance use crisis.

We are requesting your input based on your experiences with behavioral health crises. Please complete the survey by June 24, 2024. Thank you!

Links to the Surveys

• Person who experienced the behavioral health crisis: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WithLivedExperience
• Person who supported another through a behavioral health crisis: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SocialSupports

If you have any questions on the survey, please contact Anica Maggard (amaggard@nystec.com).

Our Issues in the News

• Report: Higher Rates of Depression, Anxiety for LGBTQ Teens Forcibly Outed
• Children in residential treatment facilities face multiple risks: Senate report
• The Heavy Toll of the Youth Mental Health Crisis on Businesses
• Fighting to make sure New York’s community-based mental health providers have the resources they need
• What to Know About New Social Media Protections for Children in New York
• Opinion: NY needs a student mental health system that works for students

“We Rose”

A Juneteenth Poem by Kristina Kay

From Africa’s heart, we rose

Already a people, our faces ebon, our bodies lean,

We rose

Skills of art, life, beauty and family

Crushed by forces we knew nothing of, we rose

Survive we must, we did,

We rose

We rose to be you, we rose to be me,

Above everything expected, we rose

To become the knowledge we never knew,

We rose

Dream, we did

Act, we must

Survival Guide

A LGBTQ+ Poem by Joy Ladin

No matter how old you are,

it helps to be young

when you’re coming to life,

to be unfinished, a mysterious statement,

a journey from star to star.

So break out a box of Crayolas

and draw your family

looking uncomfortably away

from the you you’ve exchanged

for the mannequin

they named. You should

help clean up, but you’re so busy being afraid

to love or not

you're missing the fun of clothing yourself

in the embarrassment of life.

Frost your lids with midnight;

lid your heart with frost;

rub them all over, the hormones that regulate

the production of love

from karmic garbage dumps.

Turn yourself into

the real you

you can only discover

by being other.

Voila! You’re free.

Learn to love the awkward silence

you are going to be.

Project Mona's House Project Mona's House is starting the FreeTHEM Fighters High School Ambassador Program, beginning in the fall. They are choosing 10 high school students from WNY to join in making a difference in the community.

Program highlights include:

- Leadership training

- Community Service

- Advocacy and awareness

- Exciting Excursions