Statement from Children’s Behavioral Health Campaign in Response to the 2020 State of the State

Released January 8, 2020

The following statement can be attributed to Jennifer March, Executive Director of Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York and Kristin Morse, Executive Director at the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School on behalf of the Children’s Behavioral Health Campaign:

New York State is experiencing a child and adolescent mental health crisis: roughly half of all children diagnosed with a mental health need never receive services and adolescent suicide rates are climbing. Yet, Governor Cuomo made no substantive mention during the State Of The State regarding how the State plans to address the thousands of families in dire need of timely, accessible, high quality child mental health and substance use treatment services. As we look ahead to the release of the FY 2021 Executive Budget, we implore the State to protect children and families. Children didn’t create the Medicaid deficit and the State should not attempt to resolve the deficit at their expense. The Campaign therefore calls for a moratorium on cuts to children’s behavioral health care, the fulfillment of the State’s promise to increase access to services through Medicaid redesign, and the restoration of cuts made to Children and Family Treatment and Support Services (CFTSS).

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