MEDIA ADVISORY, Wednesday, January 24, 2007
CONTACT: Yoni Cohen, (202) 225-3202

WASHINGTON –- Reps. Pete Stark (D-CA), Jim Ramstad (R-MN), and Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) today introduced the "Keeping Families Together Act." The legislation would help parents obtain necessary mental health treatment for their mentally ill children without being forced to relinquish custody. Senators Collins (R-ME) and Harkin (D-IA) introduced identical legislation in the Senate.
 
"Imagine being the parent of a sick child desperately in need of mental health treatment," said Stark. "Now imagine that your insurance does not cover mental health care and that you earn too much too qualify for Medicaid. The only way to get your child the health care they need is to relinquish their custody to the state. The Keeping Families Together Act would stop thousands of families from facing this heartbreaking decision and help thousands of children obtain necessary mental health treatment without being ‘abandoned’ by their parents."
 
The "Keeping Families Together Act" would provide $100 million in new family support grants to states that end the practice of child custody relinquishment. States could use these grants to improve access to mental health and family support services that keep families together; create statewide care coordination programs; or deliver mental health care and family support services to these families.
 
"It is simply unconscionable that families are forced to choose between custody of their children and the mental health services they desperately need," Ramstad said.  "No parent should face this impossible choice, yet too many families are forced to lose custody to save their children."
 
This legislation is in response to an April 2003 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report requested by the three legislators. The GAO found that 12,700 children from 19 states were placed into the juvenile justice system to receive mental health treatment in 2001. The report recognized that the national problem is much larger since this survey was limited. The report can be accessed at:
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-397.
 
"The choice between custody and care, is one that no parent should be forced to make," said Kennedy. "Clinical child experts tell us that the best place for a child to receive care is in the context of a supportive family relationship. Intuitively, we know this to be true.  The family is the primary institution of care and nurturing for children, and families should be empowered to provide the needed care for their children through access and support."