Act Now: Fully Fund SB 14

Senate Bill 14, signed into law on June 3, 2019, transforms New Hampshire's child and family-serving system using the System of Care Framework and creates statewide access to community-based mobile crisis response and stabilization services for children. Passage of Senate Bill 14 and full funding in the state budget could not have been accomplished without YOUR advocacy. 

Granite State children and families need a fully implemented SB 14! For this important work to take place, lawmakers need to include full funding for SB 14 in the state budget.

Please call your Representatives, Senator, and the Governor to ask them to pass a budget that fully funds Senate Bill 14. Granite State children and families need an integrated, comprehensive System of Care. For this important work to take place, lawmakers need to include full funding for Senate Bill 14 in the state budget.

What does SB 14 do?

SB 14-FN takes a systemic approach to improving child welfare and ensuring children and youth get the appropriate support services where and when they need them. The bill

  1. helps children and families in crisis by expanding access to more cost-effective services such as community-based mobile crisis response and stabilization services;
  2. further integrates child welfare services with the System of Care for children’s behavioral health; and
  3. makes improvements to the system in alignment with the DCYF Adequacy and Enhancement Assessment, the federal Family First Prevention Services Act, and the 10-Year Mental Health Plan.

Why do we need SB 14-FN?

  • There are multiple crises in NH impacting children. The ongoing mental health, substance misuse, and child protection crises have taken a significant toll on NH’s children and families, impacting all child-serving systems and placing increased pressure on the children’s behavioral health system. These crises are causing toxic stress in many of our children, which can have long-term, negative health and wellness consequences if unaddressed. Unfortunately, resources for preventative services are limited in NH and the systems set up to support children remain underfunded and uncoordinated. To address these complex issues, it is vital that NH takes a coordinated and systemic approach to solving these problems to protecting our children and preventing issues down the road.
  • It ensures NH’s children behavioral health system is consistent with new federal requirements. The federal Family First Prevention Services Act reforms the federal child welfare financing streams to provide services to families who are at risk of entering the child welfare system, including allowing federal reimbursement for evidence-based and trauma-informed “prevention services”, including mental health services, substance use treatment, and in-home parenting skill training. It also seeks to improve the well-being of children by incentivizing states to reduce placement of children in congregate care. Part of the state’s plan under this Act must include the use of evidence and trauma-informed strategies to better transition youth from residential and in-patient care back into their communities and schools.
  • Children aren’t getting what they need, when and where they need it. Right now, there are long waitlists at Community Mental Health Centers, a lack of child psychiatrists, and children waiting in hospital emergency departments for treatment. A lack of intensive community-based services means 1) children in crisis are not getting appropriate treatment and 2) the state must rely on expensive, residential and inpatient treatment that drain the state’s resources. Expanding access to community-based mobile crisis response and stabilization services is a critical component of addressing the emergency boarding crisis and will in many cases avoid costly, restrictive, and often unnecessary institutional and residential care. These services are also cost effective when compared to treating children in more expensive settings and can reduce the need for other costly services. Our children cannot wait any longer for appropriate treatment.

Please call  your Representatives, Senator, and the Governor today and ask them to fully fund SB 14! Feel free to share your story with lawmakers to illustrate the need for a comprehensive, coordinated System of Care for children with behavioral health needs.