Governor Bob Holden has signed legislation to allow Medicaid coverage for children with mental illness without requiring parents to give up custody of the kids in order to get state assistance. The new legislation also creates a Comprehensive System Management Team, an inter-agency team designed to provide better coordinated mental health services. Team members will be made up of representatives from the Department of Mental Health, the Children’s Service Commission, the Department of Education, and other state agencies involved in mental health services for kids. This is the first bill of the 2004 legislative session signed into law.
