Al Franken's Blog, page 69
January 30, 2013
Duluth News Tribune: In response: School mental-health needs are best addressed by local experts
The Minnesota School Social Workers Association concurs with U.S. Sen. Al Franken’s approach of recognizing and addressing the need for additional support staff in schools to take on children’s mental-health needs. A News Tribune “Our View” editorial on the proposal from Franken, a Minnesota Democrat, was published Jan. 11 under the headline, “More counseling, yes, but who’ll pay?”
Although the school counselor-to-student ratio appears to be alarming, it also is misleading because Minnesota schools have other specialized instructional support personnel who work to address the barriers to social, emotional, mental-health and academic functioning. For example, school social workers work collaboratively with school psychologists, school nurses, school counselors and chemical-health specialists to provide assessment, diagnostic, counseling, educational, therapeutic and other necessary services as part of a comprehensive program to meet student needs. The ratio cited in the editorial did not take into consideration all the specialized instructional support personnel who are working on behalf of Minnesota’s students, addressing issues such as mental health and the need to reduce violence, which was the editorial’s major focus.
© U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website, 2013. |
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January 28, 2013
Hastings Star Gazette: Franken talks education with veterans
Hastings resident Paul Bernardy knows the importance of education.
Bernardy is a retired Navy/Naval Reservist and is in his fifth semester at Inver Hills Community College in Inver Grove Heights. He’s finishing up his Associate of Arts degree there and preparing to transfer into the landscape architecture program at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls.
His 30 years in the service left him disabled, so he can’t do physical labor. And since he didn’t get a college degree before he joined the military, his employment options are limited.
© U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website, 2013. |
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January 25, 2013
MN Progressive Project: Franken to introduce mental health bill
Sen. Al Franken (DFL-MN) will introduce and Rep. Richard Nugent (R-FL) has already introduced the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Act. This bill helps people in the criminal justice system get the mental health help they need.
Is this a sign that Republicans may now be serious about helping the mentally ill? Possibly.
“Minnesota’s jails and prisons are overwhelmed with people who would likely be better served by the mental health system, and many of them need better access to treatment,” said Sen. Franken. “My legislation will make our communities safer and stronger by helping our justice and mental health systems work together to provide better access to treatment for people who need it. It will also ensure that law enforcement officers stay safe when they are responding to mental health crises.”
© U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website, 2013. |
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January 24, 2013
KDAL: Klobuchar And Franken Push For Lower Prescription Drug Prices
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KDAL) – The Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act has been reintroduced by Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken. The bill would cut prescription drug costs for seniors by allowing the federal government to negotiate lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. In 2011, Medicare spent 67 billion dollars on the Part D drug program and the proposed bill could save up to 24 billion dollars a year. Republican Senator Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire is a co-sponsor of the bill.
© U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website, 2013. |
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January 17, 2013
Patch: Franken Hobnobs With Veterans, Watches Paramedic Training at Inver Hills Community College
Sen. Al Franken toured Inver Hills Community College Tuesday afternoon.
At the Inver Grove Heights school, he spoke with students and learned about the college’s Emergency Medical Services and Information Technology Careers departments.
© U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website, 2013. |
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January 14, 2013
TPM: Franken, Harkin Call On Biden To Include Mental Health Law In Gun Recommendations
Sens. Al Franken (D-MN) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) on Friday released a letter sent to Vice President Joe Biden in which they called for a law to provide better access to mental health and substance use services to be included in the forthcoming gun policy recommendations.
From the letter:
“Under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, millions of Americans with health insurance are entitled to access to a full range of mental health and substance use disorder services. However, while this historic law was passed four years ago, the administration has yet to issue a final rule, potentially leaving many Americans who need and have a right to these services without access to them.”
© U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website, 2013. |
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January 11, 2013
Duluth News Tribune: Our view: More counseling, yes, but who’ll pay?
The idea that we can somehow head off gun violence in public places by flooding public places with more guns, as some are advocating in the wake of the school shooting tragedy in Newtown, Conn., continues to be a baffler: Wouldn’t more guns increase the likelihood of more guns going off and more bullets hitting people?
A better strategy, as U.S. Sen. Al Franken touted this week in Duluth, is to flood public places like schools with more counselors and mental-health professionals, rather than with more guns. The earlier mental-health issues can be addressed, the less likely they can result in violent behavior, Franken said after meeting with Minnesota school officials, according to reporting yesterday by the News Tribune’s John Lundy.
Minnesota lags in its numbers of counselors and mental-health professionals, however. Our high schools have only one mental-health counselor for every 780 students, ranking us an embarrassing 48th in the country.
© U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website, 2013. |
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KSFY: Franken seeks federal fund to expand mental health programs
Minnesota Democratic Senator Al Franken is introducing a bill to increase funding for mental health problems in prisons and jails.
It would continue federal funding for courts that divert the mentally ill from prison into treatment and increase training police officers to better handle people with mental health issues.
It would also fund treatment courts for veterans.
Franken says better mental health care could cut expenses in the nation’s criminal justice system and reduce the number of people who re-offend.
Read the full article >>
© U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website, 2013. |
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Grand Forks Herald: Franken pushes mental health support to combat violence
Mental-health professionals, not more guns, are the way to address school violence, Sen. Al Franken said on Wednesday.
The Minnesota Democrat, in Duluth to announce legislation related to mental health, said he hasn’t seen support for proposals to arm teachers or place armed guards in schools.
“In the discussion that I’ve had with Minnesota teachers and school officials, they don’t think that’s the solution,” Franken said after a news conference at the Federal Building in Duluth. “There’s agreement in the educational community in Minnesota … that we need more counselors, and we need more mental-health professionals in our schools.”
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January 10, 2013
Patch: VIDEO: In Eagan Visit, Franken Discusses School Safety, Mental Illness and Assault Weapons
Sen. Al Franken went to Eagan’s Dakota Hills Middle School Monday afternoon to discuss school safety protocols with counselors, safety experts and ISD 196 administrators in the wake of last month’s Newtown shootings.
Franken repeatedly emphasized the importance of early treatment of mental illness and also spoke about lockdown drills and perimeter security in remarks to reporters after the meeting.
“You [need to] catch this kind of mental illness early, treat it, so it doesn’t grow into something where you have somebody who becomes a shooter,” he said.
© U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website, 2013. |
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