Connecticut Democrats joined Governor Ned Lamont at the state Capitol in Hartford on Wednesday for the bill signing of three children’s mental health measures into law.
The legislation will increase resources for medical and school-based aid in Connecticut.
Lamont said school districts across the state will soon benefit from the bill.
“That’s what I love about this bill,” Lamont said. “It says we’re going to add 36 more districts. We’re going to have school-based health clinics starting with mental health, making easy access.”
State Representative Liz Linehan, who also serves as the co-chair of the state Committee on Children, said parents of children suffering from mental health issues should see the bill as a way for them to get more involved.
“It’s still a call to action,” Linehan said. “That call to action is that we need children who are suffering in silence to know that the adults in their lives agree, that they are going to get them the help and that it is okay.”
The laws, which go into effect immediately, will also expand the hiring of social workers in pediatric offices and the recruiting and retaining of health care workers.
