ACTION NEEDED: Call Your Rep. to Support Budget Amendment #867

On April 10, 2024, the Ways and Means Committee of the state's House of Representatives released its proposed state budget for Fiscal Year 2025. We need your help to make MHAP for Kids a funding priority.

Representative John J. Lawn, Jr. is sponsoring Amendment #867 to allocate $3,000,000* to sustain MHAP for Kids statewide, tremendously impacting children's mental health care across the Commonwealth.

Please call your representative (find your state representative here) and urge them to co-sponsor Amendment #867 with Rep. Lawn!  

You can say something like this:

My name is ____ and I'm a constituent of Rep. ____. I'm calling to urge the Representative to co-sponsor Rep. Lawn's Amendment #867 to allocate $3,000,000 for the Mental Health Advocacy Program for Kids, which supports kids' access to mental health services that prevent involvement in the juvenile court. Thank you.

Thank you for your support and action. With your help, this innovative, cost-effective, and highly successful program will continue.

If you have any questions, please contact Marisol Garcia at 617.275.2917 or mgarcia@hla-inc.org.

Best,

Marisol Garcia

Deputy Director

Matt Selig

Executive Director

Some more info on MHAP for Kids...

When a MHAP for Kids attorney intervenes,

• School attendance improves


• The use of emergency mental health services decreases


• Inpatient hospitalizations decrease


• Overall mental health of the child and of the caregivers substantially improves (read the study here).

MHAP for Kids is not only improving the lives of children and their families, it's a cost-effective solution to a growing rate of mental health-related hospitalizations (U.S. News).

Thank you for helping us to spread the word and calling your representatives to urge them to support this amendment. With this funding, MHAP for Kids will be able to serve approximately a thousand kids per year, helping them get the mental health care they need.