Accessibility menu
State Representative Jeanne Poppe
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4193
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
Press/News Releases
Rep. Jeanne Poppe joins bipartisan Mental Health Caucus
In an effort to improve the quality of mental health diagnosis and treatment, State Representative Jeanne Poppe, (DFL-Austin) became one of the charter members of the bipartisan Mental Health Caucus, a first-in-the-nation effort to draw attention to mental health issues as they affect criminal justice, employment, education, health care and legislative policy.
"The group was formed because there is a growing concern here at the Capitol that mental health has taken the brunt of the state's budget cuts over the past two years," Rep. Poppe said. "As a counselor at Riverland Community College, I have witnessed first hand the struggles mental health issues can cause. We need to do everything we can to intervene early and provide better treatment for individuals who deal with this problem every day."
There is also a concern that the cuts which have been made are increasing related costs in areas such as the prisons, courts and health care.
"With our current budget situation, we need to make sure we're spending every dollar as wisely as we can and earlier mental health assessment and treatment can help to do that," said Rep. Poppe.
Rep. Poppe said the group, which is made up of 16 Senators and 40 Representatives from both the DFL and Republican parties, is interested in uncovering innovative programs and treatments, as well as improving the delivery of mental health services that have been proven to work. The group will focus on four key areas: the criminal justice system, employment, children's health and the results of a Minnesota Mental Health Action Group study initiated by the Governor and the Citizens League.
"Mental health issues affect so many other issues within our state," Rep. Poppe said. "For example, we need to find a better way to deal with individuals who are mentally ill rather than pulling them into our criminal justice system. Not only is that incredibly inefficient and costly, it's also cruel."
" I am proud to be a member of this group to work towards strengthening and improving our mental health system here in Minnesota," said Rep. Poppe.
News Items
- POPPE SELECTED AS AGRICULTURE POLICY COMMITTEE CHAIR - (Posted: 2012-11-16 00:00:00)
- Rep. Jeanne Poppe Encourages High School Juniors to Apply for Minnesota House of Representatives Page Program - Application Deadline is November 19th - (Posted: 2012-11-12 00:00:00)
- HORMEL INSTITUTE EXPANSION SIGNED INTO LAW - 2012 legislative session adjourns sine die - (Posted: 2012-05-11 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.