What Does It Do?
The Center for Mental Health Services estimates that 13,700,000 of the Nation's children and adolescents have a diagnosable mental disorder, and about 2/3 of these children do not receive mental health care. [Sec. 2 (1)] The bill would authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish mental health programs and services to children and adolescents. It would be carried out by: 1. awarding scholarships to students who agree to work as child mental health service professionals, 2. awarding grants to universities to expand mental health programs, 3. awarding grants to mental health organizations to train new mental health workers, 4. paying educational loans to qualified mental health practitioners. [Subpart 3, Sec. 771]
Who Is The Sponsor?
Kennedy won election in 1994 to the US House of Representatives and has been re-elected in each subsequent election.
Kennedy has received numerous awards: The Eli Lilly and Company 2003 Helping Move Lives Forward Reintegration Award, the American Psychoanalytic Association 2003 President's Award, the American Psychiatric Association Alliance Award of 2003, and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Award, also in 2003.
Kennedy has acknowledged being treated for cocaine use during his teenage years, and admitted he abused drugs and alcohol while at Providence College. He also sought treatment for OxyContin addiction as recently as 2006.
During Easter weekend in 1991, Kennedy and his father Ted were in Palm Beach, Florida along with Patrick's cousin, William Kennedy Smith. The 23-year-old Patrick Kennedy met a 27-year old Testas Restaurant waitress, Michelle Cassone, and Smith met another woman, Patricia Bowman. Both woman returned with the Kennedys to the family's beachfront retreat, where a series of events took place that resulted in Smith being charged with raping Bowman. The prosecution alleged that the three Kennedys collaborated to cover up this alleged crime. Smith was later acquitted.
In 2000, Kennedy was accused of pushing a female security guard at Los Angeles International Airport. Kennedy paid an undisclosed civil settlement to the alleged victim almost two years later.
Also in 2000, Atlantic Navigation Company of Mystic, Connecticut, claimed a boat they rented to Kennedy was found abandoned off Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts with $28,000 worth of damage.
That same year, the U.S. Coast Guard was dispatched to Kennedy's yacht after he and his date became embroiled in an argument on his yacht off Martha's Vineyard.
In 2003, Kennedy was criticized for saying "I have never worked a fucking day in my life."
On May 4, 2006, Kennedy crashed his 1997 Ford Mustang convertible into a barricade on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. at 2:45 a.m. A Fraternal Order of Police official said Kennedy appeared intoxicated when he crashed his car, but Kennedy claimed that he was merely disoriented from a prescription medications Ambien and Phenargan. Sources are alleged to have seen Kennedy drinking at the nearby Hawks & Dove bar prior the accident. Kennedy also stated to officers that he was "late for a vote." However, the last vote of the night had occurred almost six hours earlier.
On May 5, 2006, Kennedy admitted that he had an addiction to prescription medication and announced he would be re-admitting himself to a drug-rehabilitation facility at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota where he has sought treatment for prior addiction. He has stated he has no recollection of the car crash. On May 8, 2006, Kennedy was endorsed by the Rhode Island Democratic Party. On June 5, 2006, Kennedy was released from drug rehabilitation.
On June 13, 2006, Kennedy made a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of prescription drugs. He was sentenced to one-year probation and a fine of $350. He was ordered to attend a rehabilitation program that includes weekly urine tests, twice-weekly meetings with a probation officer, near-daily Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and a weekly meeting of recovering addicts.
On Friday, June 12, 2009, Kennedy once again announced that he has "checked into a medical facility for treatment." Kennedy, who claims to have wrestled with alcoholism, bipolar disorder, and addiction to prescription drugs and bouts of binge drinking, has become a leading voice on mental health issues.
On January 28, 2008, Kennedy joined his father in endorsing Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, stating that Obama was the "perfect antidote to George W. Bush."
Who Are The Cosponsors?
Rep Baldwin, Tammy (D-WI) - 4/21/2009
Rep DeGette, Diana (D-CO) - 6/10/2009
Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. (D-CT) - 4/21/2009
Rep Edwards, Donna F. (D-MD) - 9/14/2009
Rep Kildee, Dale E. (D-MI) - 5/12/2009
Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. (D-OH) - 6/2/2009
Rep Lewis, John (D-GA) - 4/2/2009
Rep Michaud, Michael H. (D-ME) - 5/20/2009
Rep Moran, James P. (D-VA) - 5/12/2009
Rep Napolitano, Grace F. (D-CA) - 4/21/2009
Rep Ros-Lehtinen Ileana (R-FL) - 4/2/2009
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. (D-IL) - 6/3/2009
Rep Sestak, Joe (D-PA) - 4/27/2009
Rep Tonko, Paul D. (D-NY) - 6/4/2009
