BINGHAMTON, NY (WSKG) -- Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning) is adding his name to a bill that would provide funding for mental health services in schools, after hearing from a district superintendent in Yates County who called the lack of access a “crisis.”
“What we’re envisioning with this is that you would have on-site behavioral health services, potentially accessing technology on top of onsite visits," said Reed.
The bill would provide $200 million in competitive grants for public schools across the country.
"We had a phone conference - Phil Palmesano, Tom O'Mara and myself - with the CEO of Soldiers and Sailors Hospital there in Penn Yan, Jose Acevedo, who offered as they realigned their mental health services in the area to be a resource meeting with the school district to meet the needs of the students there in Dundee," said Reed.
This bill has been kicking around since last summer when US Sen.Tina Smith (D-Minnesota) introduced it.