Montana lawmakers face state’s mental health need

Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (1) – 5/28/21

As Montana lawmakers squared off in this year’s legislative session, one issue seemed mostly bipartisan: mental health. “Our numbers are off the charts in terms of people who are asking us for help,” Janet Woodburn, CEO at Sapphire Community Health in Hamilton, said in a testimony in February. “And we can’t provide it because we don’t have enough professionals to do that.” Bills tried to address the issue in a number of ways, from easing licensure requirements for psychologists, to changing the way services are billed, to trying to grow the number of available resources in the state. Read up on Montana Free Press’s coverage of the state of Montana’s mental health.