SENATOR BYE RECOGNIZED BY MENTAL HEALTH BOARD FOR HER COMMITMENT TO CHILDREN’S WELLNESS

State Senator Beth Bye (D-West Hartford) was recognized on September 11, 2013 by the North Central Regional Mental Health Board for her “outstanding and dedicated service” to the mental health needs of children and others in north-central Connecticut.

 “Senator Bye has represented the citizens of West Hartford, Bloomfield, Burlington, and Farmington since 2010,” Marcia DuFore, Executive Director of the North Central Regional Mental Health Board, said as she presented Sen. Bye with a ‘2013 Annual Award to Legislator’ in West Hartford Town Hall. “As Vice-Chair of the legislature’s Education Committee, Beth has been a strong champion for children’s mental health and the promotion of school-based health centers.  School-based health centers have a proven track record for addressing the behavioral health needs of their students along with improved school outcomes.  They are a place where students can go for help in an environment that is non-stigmatizing.  We are grateful to have such a champion in Senator Bye who understands the importance of these services for our children.”  

“I am honored to be recognized by the North Central Regional Mental Health Board, because we both have the best interests of young people at heart. I also want to say that the real champions here are the families that every day are supporting their children or a family member with mental health challenges,” Sen. Bye said. “Earlier this year there was talk of de-funding some of Connecticut’s school-based health centers, which serve more than 43,000 adolescents, many of them with mental health needs. That was short-sighted; we needed to maintain our commitment, and we did. But I still see huge challenges in the current system, and I plan to keep listening and fighting for a system that is easier to access. Right now our mental health system leaves many families fighting for the care their children need, trapping them between multiple systems.”

The North Central Regional Mental Health Board is one of five regional mental health boards established by the Connecticut General Assembly in 1974 to study local needs, evaluate state funded mental health programs, and make recommendations to the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for improved or expanded services