Children's mental health bill wins final passage

"She was truly powerful in being the visual face of what mental illness looks like. It doesn't have two heads or worts on its face or drool down its mouth. It looks like a typical child," Tufts said in a telephone interview. "Could this bill have changed the outcome for (Yolanda) no one knows, but I think it will impact other children very positively."

In Massachusetts, more than 140,000 children age 17 or younger require mental health services, but 100,000 of those children do not get them, according to health advocates. Half of students with a mental illness drop out of school, and of those who commit suicide, 90 percent had a diagnosable and treatable illness, according to advocates.

The substantial unmet need, combined with Torres' powerful testimony and a strong coalition of families and organizations, helped push the bill through Beacon Hill in one legislative session, a remarkable feat, given its far-reaching effects, said Marylou Sudders, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and a former state mental health commissioner.

"We have been able to work with the legislature on an issue that highlights the crisis in mental health and enact a bill to start to address this," Sudders said.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee estimated the changes called for in the law would cost the state about $5.4 million annually. The governor now has 10 days to sign the bill.

"The governor has been generally supportive of this important legislation, but we have not seen the final version and the governor will need to review it," said Patrick's spokeswoman, Cyndi Roy.