July 30, 2020
Have you visited our COVID-19 Resources page recently? You can find updates on Coronavirus and other health related legislation (https://arttherapy.org/covid-19-resources/#legislation), scroll through art therapists’ artwork, and explore a variety of topics related to the pandemic.
From the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, AATA has joined our coalitions in mental health, specialized instructional support personnel (SISPs) in schools, and the arts in congressional COVID-19 relief package negotiations and working with federal agencies. A list of COVID-19 related Mental Health Liason Coalition letters can be found here. In addition, AATA has signed on to the following recent letters:
- Asserting that return to in-person instruction in our nation’s schools must be guided by reliable local public health data and must consider the needs of students, families, and staff (7/21/20)
- Urging Congress to include the Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2020 (H.R. 6561) in any further iterations of legislation to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. (7/15/20)
- Expressing support for Evaluating Disparities and Outcomes of Telehealth During the COVID-19 Emergency Act of 2020 or EDOT Act (H.R. 7078). (7/15/20)
- Requesting that HSS designate specific behavioral health distribution from the Health Care Provider Fund, authorized in the CARES Act (6/18/20), and thanking HHS Secretary Eric Hargan for a meeting and commitment to do so.(7/10/20)
- Urging Congress to include at least $150 billion in direct aid to states for fiscal relief and an emergency increase of 12 percent to Federal Medicaid matching funds. (3/20/20)
- Urging Congress to reject any effort to provide the Secretary of Education with blanket waiver authority for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) or the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA).(3/20/20)