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FAIR Health released a study in March 2021 on the impact of COVID-19 on pediatric mental health that was very concerning. In response to that, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on Wednesday, September 22, 2021, at 10:30 a.m. YouTube Link to hearing: https://youtu.be/sqay0ul2TI4.
In order to better advocate for RTs serving youth with mental health diagnoses, ATRA wrote a letter of support that can be found below. This letter was sent to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, House Committee on Education and Labor, House Committee on Ways and Means, Senate Committee on Finance, and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
In response to this letter, ATRA was invited to speak with staff members of Senator Ron Wyden, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance! During this conference call on December 1st, ATRA representatives discussed the role of RT in providing quality services for adolescent mental health. We are highlighted examples of how RT services reach clients’ mental health goals by using preferred leisure activities. We also addressed the limitations to accessing RT services because of funding gaps, making it challenging for these RT services to be available in every community.
At the end of the conference call, we provided 3 “asks” of Chairman Wyden:
The conference call ended positively with the Chairman’s staff interested in continuing this conversation and working with ATRA in the near future.
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