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NAMI Minnesota Legislative Update August 16, 2020Special Session Ends As in previous sessions, the legislature was brought back for a special session because Governor Walz sought another extension to the public health emergency. While the Senate voted to end the public health emergency, the House voted down a motion to suspend the rules in order to vote on a resolution to end it, so Governor Walz's emergency powers were extended for another month.In addition to extending the public health emergency, the legislature passed SF1 which allocates $20 million of federal COVID-19 relief dollars for adult day services, day training and habilitation, day support services, pre-vocational services and structured day services provided by home and community-based waiver programs for people with disabilities, along with those providing early intensive developmental and behavioral interventions. The funds can be used to cover the costs of business interruptions caused by required closures, reduced capacity to promote social distancing measures, reduced demand for services and to cover revenue losses experienced between March 1, 2020, and August 31, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in monthly fixed costs incurred exceeding monthly revenue. Providers have to state that without additional funds, the provider will be unable to maintain the continuity of the services.An additional $10 million was allocated to help providers with the equipment and other services they need to reopen safely and to maintain proper social distancing and to move away from using congregate settings in order to reduce the risk of exposure to and transmission of COVID-19 to people with disabilities and staff who support them.NAMI Minnesota appreciates the needs of disability service providers during this pandemic. However, mental health providers have received little help from the state during this crisis. NAMI Minnesota and our partners in the mental health community HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" submitted a letter outlining these concerns and hope that Governor Walz and the Legislature seek a solution with the same degree of urgency they have for other parts of our healthcare and human services system.H.F. 2 also passed. This bill made non-substantive changes to the police training bills passed during the previous special session. It clarified that the new requirements would officers who have a license renewal date of June 30, 2022 or later. It also clarified that the funding of $145,000 was for the Post Board to carry out the new requirements. Six senators voted against it: Carlson, Champion, Eaton, Hayden, Rest, and Torres Ray and ten representatives: Bahr, Drazkowski, Franson, Lucero, McDonald,Mekeland, Miller, Munson, Nash and Runbeck.While not surprising due to the state schedule for purchasing bonds, the Legislature and Governor Walz do not appear to be any closer to reaching a deal on a bonding bill. This must be a top priority for the legislature going forward. In addition to the economic stimulus that comes with developing these infrastructure projects, Minnesota is in the midst of a housing crisis and we cannot afford to delay the construction of affordable housing projects across the state. NAMI Minnesota urges Governor Walz and leaders in the House and Senate to set aside the politics and pass a robust bonding bill with resources for affordable housing and emergency shelter.S.F. 3/HF 29 was introduced but not acted upon. This was a bill promoted by the psychologists that would have created a psychology interjurisdictional compact, making it easier and less expensive for psychologists from other states to practice here. S.F. 14/HF 7 which would have provided guidance to courts on sentencingveterans for criminal offenses related to a service-related disorder was passed by the Senate but not the House.At the end of the day of the special session, the Senate surprised Governor Walz and the rest of the legislature with the HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" unexpected decision to not confirm Commissioner Nancy Leppink of the Department of Labor and Industry. This forces former Commissioner Leppink out of the job that she has held since January of 2019. The last time a Commissioner was effectively terminated by the Senate was during the Pawlenty Administration. While the Senate made the case to fire Commissioner Leppink due to her job performance, this decision was linked to an escalating conflict with Governor Walz around the public health emergency. While this is unlikely to directly impact the mental health community, this partisan move by the Senate undermines their ability to work with Governor Walz and threatens key items like a bonding bill. NAMI Minnesota will keep members updated as this situation evolves.NAMI Minnesota Needs Your Input for 2021 Legislative GoalsEvery fall, NAMI Minnesota reaches out to people with mental illnesses and their families to learn about their experiences with the mental health system in order to develop its goals for the next legislative session. Please take a few minutes to take the HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" survey. We appreciate it!Find out who represents you HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" Click hereNews from the State Level2020 General Election Is Coming UpWith last week's primary over, the ballot has now been set for the November 3rd general election. Once again, Minnesota led the nation in voter participation, including a record 423,000 absentee ballots coming in as of election day. This number is likely to increase because any ballot postmarked by election day must still be counted. There were a number of important primary races at the state and federal level. Congresswoman Omar defeated her opponent in a highly contested race in the fifth congressional district, while former state senator Michelle Fischbach won her primary and is now the GOP candidate in the seventh congressional district in Western Minnesota.Key races at the state level include Omar Fateh winning his primary against incumbent Senator Hayden, as well as Esther Agbaje who defeated incumbent Ray Dehn, Jen McEwen defeated incumbent Senator Eric Simonson, and Athena Hollins who defeated incumbent John Lesch. As a reminder, NAMI is nonpartisan and doesn't endorse candidates. We appreciate the work of these three incumbents and wish them well. You can use this HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" helpful document from MinnPost to learn who is running for the state legislature.With the general election just around the corner, now is the time to start thinking about your plan to vote by November 3rd. Your first step is to c HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" heck and make sure you're registered to vote at your current address. Then you have to make your plan for voting. You can either: HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" Vote early in person at your local county election office HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" Vote early by mail HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" Vote in-person on election dayThere is no right or wrong way to vote. The most important thing is to make a plan and find the right way to vote for you and your family. However, if you believe that voting by mail is the best fit for you, then you should request an absentee ballot as soon as possible and mail it in far before November. Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans will cast their ballot by mail this year, so the sooner you register the easier it will be for you to vote by mail. Thank you for being a mental health voter this year!NAMI Minnesota will again be sending out letters nearly every week until the November election to educate candidates about the needs of children and adults with mental illnesses and their families and the changes needed in our mental health system.The next two weeks the national party conventions will be held. Mental Health for Us, a national coalition of which NAMI is a member is focused on the upcoming conventions and elections. The conventions present an opportunity to raise awareness about mental health issues. Join the movement to encourage our leaders to take action—use the tools below to tell party leaders to HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" #TalkAboutMentalHealth during next month’s conventions! Use these tweets or make up your own! Be sure and use the hashtag #TalkAboutMentalHealth We can’t ignore our struggling #mentalhealth and #addiction care systems any longer. @TheDemocrats & @GOP, #TalkAboutMentalHealth at the nominating conventions! HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" 1 in 5 Americans live with a mental health condition. @TheDemocrats & @GOP, how do you plan to support this community? #TalkAboutMentalHealth at your presidential nominating conventions! HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" #demconvention?#RNC2020 Join the movement to encourage our leaders to take action for mental health and addiction—use @MHforUS’s tools to tell party leaders to #TalkAboutMentalHealth?during this month’s conventions!? HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" #MentalHealthforUS NAMI Commitment Legislation SummaryAfter years of hard work and collaboration, NAMI Minnesota was finally able to pass our civil commitment re-write during the first special session. We are so grateful to all our partners who helped us to develop the best bill possible and shepherd it through the legislative process. Most of the changes were technical in nature, but there are many important adjustments to the state law on civil commitment that went into effect on August 1, 2020. To help increase the understanding of these changes, NAMI Minnesota developed a more HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" detailed summary of the bill. Please share this document far and wide to anyone who wants to learn more about the changes to the civil commitment law.Discussions on Police Funding ContinueThe Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law released a new publication last week HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" “’Defunding the Police’ and People with Mental Illness” to address the current discussions happening around police funding and alternatives to police responses to mental health crises. The brief states:“We must end this overreliance on the police, especially in predominantly Black communities, and we must invest in public mental health systems, expanding their capacity to deliver community-based mental health services, housing assistance, substance use treatment, and income support. Schools must take a similar approach, ending their overreliance on law enforcement officers, “school resource officers,” and investing instead in professional staff, positive approaches to improving behavior, and better services.”The publication makes many recommendations that NAMI Minnesota has been advocating for in Minnesota such as growing co-responder programs, requiring 911 to dispatch crisis teams, and building a robust crisis response system.Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also released a preliminary proposal for the 2021 city budget last week. NAMI Minnesota followed up with the mayor’s office and members of the city council concerning HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" recommendations we sent in July. We will keep pursuing these reforms. If you live in Minneapolis you can see who your city council member is HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" here and contact them and the HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" mayor’s office to let them know that appropriate responses to mental health crises should be at the forefront of budget discussions and reimagining public safety. You can read more about the 2021 Minneapolis City budget HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" here. Department of Corrections Announces Closure of Two FacilitiesIn the face of a $14 million budget deficit in fiscal year 2021 the Minnesota Department of Corrections has announced plans to close its Togo and Willow River facilities. These locations are home to the Challenge Incarceration Program (CIP), a minimum security "boot camp" for people with non-violent convictions who qualify to earn early release. In a HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" news release on August 3rd the DOC stated the CIP will continue to operate in full at other facilities. Inmates are expected to be transferred to new facilities by the end of 2020. The Legislature failed to pass a supplementary budget request in the first or second special session which would have addressed some staffing and safety issues which have affected the DOC in recent years. Togo and Willow River employ nearly 100 people together. The DOC has stated that most of those positions will be eliminated and that the combined budgets of the two facilities is about $11 million. You can read more about the closures in this HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" Star Tribune article.House Education Finance Committee Meets on Upcoming School YearThe House Education Finance Committee held an informational hearing this past Tuesday to discuss the upcoming school year. The hearing began with a presentation from the Department of Education on the criteria for schools opening, and local options for remote learning, in-person learning, or a hybrid model that offers both remote and in-person instruction. NAMI Minnesota, the Minnesota Association of Community Mental Health Programs (MACMHP), and Aspire Minnesota HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" submitted a letter to the committee on the mental health needs of students. Parents or other interested people can also read the HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" Department of Education plan for opening schools during COVID-19, as well as this more HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" detailed planning document from the department.After the presentation, Rep. Erickson asked about whether Individualized Education Plans (IEPS) could be restructured based on the school learning model. Commissioner Ricker responded that her department has issued guidance for how special educators can address IEPs and adjust student supports during COVID-19. Assistant-Commissioner Korte also noted that there is no mandate to do a wholesale revision of an IEP, but that the IEP team should be consulted about the accommodations that will be necessary for the student to succeed should distance learning or a hybrid model be necessary. The Senate E-12 finance committee will meet next week to continue this discussion about the upcoming school year.News from Federal LevelSenate Goes Into Recess Without COVID DealAfter weeks of negotiating, Majority Leader McConnell opted to go into recess without reaching a deal on another COVID-19 funding package. There are still fundamental differences around even the amount of money to be spent in the next funding package, making it increasingly unlikely that Congress will be able to find a compromise before the November elections. Federal COVID relief dollars are vitally important here in Minnesota can could be used to provide funding for mental health providers and emergency rental assistance. NAMI Minnesota hopes that all parties get back to the negotiating table to reach an urgently needed deal. For more information on the state of the negotiations, you can read this HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" article from Politico.HHS Responds to Letter From Senator SmithBack in July, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) engaged over 35 other senators to sign a letter calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide Congress with a written plan and timeline about any potential changes to Medicare rules governing telehealth. Sens. Smith and Cassidy have heard of patients being worried that Medicare’s temporary changes to telehealth rules will be rolled back without much notice. On August 6, Senator Smith received a letter from Seema Verma responding to their concerns. The letter provides details about the use of telehealth including telephonic, but doesn't really respond to the question about continuing these practices post COVID-19. Read the letter HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" here. Senator Klobuchar Holds Press ConferenceOn August 2, Senator Klobuchar held a press conference at Hazelden in St Paul to announce the introduction of the Coronavirus Mental Health and Addiction Assistance Act that includes $100 million to expand mental health and use programs during the pandemic. You can read more about it HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" here. Sue Abderholden, NAMI Minnesota's executive director spoke at the press conference, outlining the barriers to access and the problems experienced by providers. She closed her statement by saying "More than any time before people are understanding what it’s like to feel anxious or depressed – and they need to know that help is out there."? Updates from NAMI MinnesotaNAMI WalkThe 2020 NAMI Walk is Scheduled for September 26. With all of our other fundraising events cancelled for 2020, this is the most important NAMI Minnesota Walk ever. Our public policy efforts - including this newsletter - are primarily funded by private donations so we are counting on your support this year. We're only 17% of our way to meeting our fundraising goal, so we are counting on you to HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" register for the walk and join a team. Thank you for your support!NAMI Legislative CommitteeMeetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month at 6 PM. To be added to the email list, contact HYPERLINK "mailto:ssmith@" \t "_blank" Sam Smith. If you missed the complete summary of the 2020 Legislative Sessions, click HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" here HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" . NAMI Minnesota | 1919 University Ave. W., Ste. 400 | St. Paul, MN 55104 HYPERLINK "mailto:namihelps@" \t "_blank" namihelps@ | HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" htttp:// 651-645-2948 | 1-888-NAMI-HELPS HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" ? HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" ? HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" ? HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" ABOUT NAMI HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" GET INVOLVED HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" EDUCATION HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" SUPPORT HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" CONTACT USCopyright ? 2020. All Rights Reserved. ................
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