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Your Voice Amplified!

MCF brings family voice directly to lawmakers and policymakers. Your experiences help us highlight the behavioral health needs of Maryland families and advocate for meaningful supports and services. As we prepare for the upcoming Maryland General Assembly, we want to hear your thoughts on a few key behavioral health topics.

Please take a few moments to share your perspective through this survey. Your input will help guide our advocacy efforts and ensure families’ voices are represented in important conversations.
1.How concerned are you about the impact on your child's mental health because of their technology use such as group chats, smartphone usage, social media, YouTube, or online gaming?
2.Are there any steps policymakers could take that would help? (For example, limiting push notifications, protecting child from social media algorithms, limiting purchases in online gaming platforms, removing access to unmoderated chat forums, etc.)
3.If your child has had a mental health-related emergency room visit in the last 3 years, what if anything could have prevented it? Check all that apply.
4.Has your child ever been the subject of an emergency petition initiated by school personnel ? (An emergency petition is a rapid legal request used to get immediate help for someone experiencing a severe mental health crisis. It allows a judge or law enforcement to order that a person be safely transported to a medical facility for an evaluation.)
5.If yes, were you provided enough information to understand why this step was taken?
6.Are there any steps that could have been taken to prevent it?
7.Have you ever been asked by school personnel to pick your child up early or drop them off late as a strategy for managing challenging behaviors?
8.If your child has a 504 plan or IEP, does it meet your child's needs? If not, what improvements or changes are needed?
9.If you child does NOT have a 504 plan or IEP, but you feel they need one, what obstacles are you facing to getting one?
10.Has your employment ever been impacted by the need to address your child's mental health challenges (i.e., taking time off to attend school or provider meetings)?
11.If yes, would increased workplace protections for caregivers have made a difference?
12.If you could sit face to face with Maryland lawmakers for two minutes, what is the single most important thing you want them to understand about the daily reality, challenges, or barriers your family faces while caregiving for a child with behavioral health needs?