Capitol Hill briefing on Children's Mental Health

May 8, 2008

On behalf of the Bazelon Center on Mental Health Law, Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, Mental Health America, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, we are writing to invite you and your staff to attend an important Capitol Hill briefing on Children's Mental Health: Meeting Their Needs to Achieve Success in Schools and Communities.  This event will mark National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day and will be held on Thursday, May 8, 2008, from 9:00am to 10:00am in room B-339 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Our briefing will feature presentations by individuals that operate effective school-based mental health programs and work closely with the community mental health system.  It is well documented that, without appropriate services and supports, child mental health disorders may persist and lead to a downward spiral of school failure, poor employment opportunities and poverty in adulthood.  No other illnesses damage so many children so seriously.

The invited panelists are:

• Stanley Bernard - Program Director, Greater Bridgeport (CT) Systems of Care Grant Site/PBIS Focus
  A System of Care program which provides six-year awards to public entities for developing intensive, comprehensive community-based mental health services for children with serious emotional disturbances (SED).
• Eve Brooks - Executive Director, DC Student Support Center, Safe Schools/Healthy Students
  A Safe Schools/Healthy Students initiative which provides three-year grants to local school districts to fund programs addressing school violence prevention through a wide range of early childhood development, early intervention and prevention, suicide prevention, and mental health treatment services.
• Laurel L. Stine - Director of Federal Relations, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

Please help us recognize and support Awareness Day by joining us on May 8^th for this important briefing on children's mental health.  To RSVP for this event, please contact Bianca Ruffin of NAMI at biancar@nami.org.

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