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Healthy Families bill moves forward
The bill that would allow for the expansion of the Healthy Families program passed the Senate on February 19!
Thanks to all of you who voiced your opinion on this bill - I think it absolutely made a difference.  We have much work to do if we are going to see SB2253 successfully navigate the House but, for today we will be grateful that 27 members of the Senate saw fit to move the bill forward.
As I said in the last update, this ministry truly aligns with the values of the church and creates tangible, life-changing impacts in the lives of children and families every day. Thanks for making time to be part of the change we hope to see happen in people’s lives! Our next bit of work will begin in the House in March. ☺
Behavioral Health bills also pass Senate
Promoting and maintaining good mental health is as critical an issue for all of us as is physical health. There have been many more conversations about the importance of mental health treatment in recent years than ever before. In North Dakota, a group of people (legislators and stakeholders) interested in this issue worked for months before the legislative session started to come up with specific ideas that could help improve access to mental health services for people living in North Dakota.
The 3 bills up for consideration all passed the Senate today (Feb. 20)
  • SB2045 will create a new payment system for mental health services.
  • SB2046 allows marriage and family therapists to be considered as approved mental health providers.
  • SB2048 adds resources and infrastructure to help strengthen assessment and additional behavioral health services for both kids and adults.
LSSND supports all three of these bills as they will provide people in need with better opportunities to get the help they seek while at the same time allowing organizations like ours to provide better service to the people who need it. We will keep you apprised of these bills as they move on to the House.
Affordable Housing
Work continues on the re-authorization of the Housing Incentive Fund. There are efforts underway to re-establish the $20 million that was lost when SB2126 was defeated. We expect final action on this effort in the next few days. The end result would be the re-authorization of the Housing Incentive program at a level of $50 million.
REMINDER
We are now 7 days away from “cross-over,” which is the date that all bills that have passed either the House or the Senate in the first half of the legislative session “cross over” to the other chamber (i.e., Senate bills go to the House and House bills to the Senate).
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