skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, May 12, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Dow soars 1,000 points after Trump team and China dramatically lower tariffs; Alabama lawmakers send grocery tax cut bill to governor; Probation, supervision after incarceration comes with a catch in NC; How immigrants can protect themselves and their data at the border.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Pentagon begins removing transgender troops as legal battles continue. Congress works to fix a SNAP job-training penalty. Advocates raise concerns over immigrant data searches, and U.S. officials report progress in trade talks with China.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Volunteers with AmeriCorps are reeling from near elimination of the 30-year-old program, Head Start has dodged demise but funding cuts are likely, moms are the most vulnerable when extreme weather hits, and in California, bullfrogs await their 15-minutes of fame.

VA Parents' Plea: Crisis Money for Kids

play audio
Play

Monday, March 17, 2014   

RICHMOND, Va. - When the General Assembly reconvenes next week, it will decide whether to okay a boost in mental health crisis funding for kids. Fairfax County mom Cristy Gallagher said the money is critical for families such as hers that have a child who is sometimes in desperate need of immediate psychiatric help.

"For children that pull knives out, children that run into the street or try and jump out of the window, our only option now, and in many places around the state, is to call the police," Gallagher said.

Gallagher's daughter suffers from bipolar disorder. The Virginia Senate already has approved an additional $1.5 million in crisis funding for children to its mental health care budget. Gallagher said the House needs to do the same.

There is only one mobile mental health crisis-response team for children in Fairfax County, and similar help is not available at all in other communities.

"This funding would add dollars to those crisis mobile teams across the state and additional money for psychiatric care for youngsters," Gallagher explained.

Voices for Virginia's Children Executive Director Margaret Nimmo Crowe said the General Assembly's past investments in mental health care for younger children have resulted in fewer kids needing to be hospitalized, but more funding is needed.

"It's a modest amount of money that gets an amazing return on investment," Nimmo Crowe said. "For some kids, this treatment is helping them stay in school and live up to their potential. For other kids, it's literally saving their lives."

The National Institute of Mental Health reports half of all mental illness begins before age 14. Nimmo Crowe said most mental health funding in Virginia goes to adults.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
Many municipalities are now testing drinking water for PFAS but contamination is often widespread and difficult to remove. (show999/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A new study from Michigan State University researchers revealed lasting PFAS effects in a Michigan community's drinking water near an old paper mill l…


Environment

play sound

Supporters of the Campaign for Affordable Power are pressing state lawmakers to pass a series of reform bills aimed at big investor-owned utilities li…

Environment

play sound

An environmental group is voicing concern about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to tackle PFAS pollution. The EPA recently …


The Mayo Clinic reported most people born or living in the U.S. before 1957 are immune to measles because they've had the infection and can only get it once. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

At least two people have tested positive for measles in Illinois and public health officials are working to combat misinformation surrounding vaccines…

Social Issues

play sound

Keeping more renters in their homes is one goal of a new Utah initiative. The Utah Housing Coalition has formed a Landlord and Community Partners …

Two-thirds of Virginians who receive SNAP benefits have a child in the house, and 36% are in working families. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A new bill in the U.S. House of Representatives could make it easier for people to get job training while they're receiving federal food assistance…

Social Issues

play sound

Fear, shame, and helplessness are feelings Minnesota fraud victims describe after losing their life savings to a scam. They're hopeful about a path …

Social Issues

play sound

The Pentagon will begin removing transgender troops from the military after the Supreme Court ruled last week that a ban could be enforced as lawsuits…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021