November 20, 2025
Attached please find comments the NYS Council drafted and recently sent to the lead attorneys at Children’s Rights Inc., in response to its request for recommendations regarding next steps in light of a recent children’s behavioral health class action settlement agreement that requires NYS to make some significant changes and investments in the NYS children’s mental health system of care.
As you will recall, a leading group of children’s rights advocates/law firms sued OMH (and specifically Commissioner Sullivan) and DoH several years ago on behalf of 4 NYS youth that could not obtain the HCBS services they needed and were entitled to. These comments come early in the process that is expected to take at least 18 months. We expect many more opportunities to comment on the process and the intended outcomes, and to participate in the implementation plan to fulfill the terms of the agreement.
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Congress Passes New Law re: unregulated, intoxicating products
(Partnership to End Addiction, 11/20)
Congress passed a new law to restrict the sale of unregulated, intoxicating products (e.g., delta-8) that are appealing and accessible to kids. After Congress legalized hemp in 2018, with the intention of legalizing industrial and non-intoxicating hemp products (e.g., CBD), companies exploited a loophole in the law to create new products from hemp with higher concentrations of THC. These intoxicating hemp products have become widespread and have largely been unregulated, allowing them to be designed and sold in ways that appeal and are accessible to kids. Included in the funding legislation enacted last week to end the government shutdown, the new law closes this loophole, banning the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived products. This will help protect youth from the negative health outcomes associated with using these products. To learn more about this issue and why this change is important, check out our video and the Washington Post op-ed we wrote with our partners at Shatterproof.
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NYS Congressional Delegation News
NYS Representative Nydia Velazques announces retirement from Congress
NEW YORK — Rep. Nydia Velázquez, the Brooklyn progressive known to allies as “La Luchadora” for her fighting spirit, announced Thursday that she’s retiring from Congress and will not seek reelection next year.
The Democrat’s surprise decision against a 17th term sparked instantaneous debate over who would become her successor. And it marked the second planned departure by a septuagenarian member of Congress in New York City. Manhattan Rep. Jerry Nadler, 78, announced his retirement in September and has at least 10 Democrats vying to take his seat.
Velázquez, 72, said the time had come for generational change.
“I’ve been here 34 years. So I know in my heart, I feel good, and I know that there is a pipeline of young elected officials that will step in and represent the district here with dignity, with compassion, with commitment,” she told POLITICO in a brief interview.
Velázquez is closely allied with younger, left-leaning Democrats viewed as the future of the party. She is close to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a fellow elected leader of Puerto Rican descent. Velázquez also endorsed Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the June primary when most of her fellow House delegation members sat out the race or backed other candidates.
“New York’s recent mayoral election showed that Americans are hungry for change and determined to build a better future,” Velázquez said in a statement earlier Thursday.
Mamdani responded to her retirement announcement by posting a photo of them together on X.
“Your grace and fight showed us what real leadership looks like,” Mamdani wrote. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you La Luchadora.”
The retirement was first reported by the New York Times.
The House member’s career has been colored by her focus on immigrants, federal aid for Puerto Rico and the working class. More recently, she has been a forceful opponent to the Trump administration’s deportation agenda and is a frequent presence at 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been arresting and holding migrants for removal from the country.
Several progressive and democratic socialist state and local lawmakers were already being floated Thursday as potential candidates to fill Velázquez’s shoes, though Velázquez didn’t name a chosen successor.
“I don’t want to put my finger on the scale,” she told POLITICO. “I just want to respect and give space for the candidates to come before the constituents and make their case and maybe closer to the primary I’ll get involved.”
Before Velázquez announced her retirement, no other candidates had filed to run for her seat — an indication of her popularity and the fact that she was considered a shoo-in for reelection.
Velázquez’s district covers sections of North Brooklyn and western Queens dubbed the “Commie Corridor” for its residents’ leftist political leanings. Democratic socialist Mamdani beat moderate former Gov. Andrew Cuomo by 52 points in the mayoral primary.
Potential contenders for the seat include state Sen. Julia Salazar, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and New York City Council Members Jen Gutiérrez and Sandy Nurse.
“No individual and no political organization are entitled to a seat,” said Salazar, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. However, she added, “it makes perfect sense that a democratic socialist would run for this seat and, in doing so, continue the legacy and the work that Nydia Velázquez has done.” (Source: Politico, 11/20)
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Rural Health Funding Could Vary Only Modestly Despite Large Differences in Rural Needs
A new analysis from Kaiser Family Foundation finds that while the upcoming $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program promises vital support for rural communities, the funding formula may not fully reflect the wide differences in rural health needs across states. As you may recall, the new law passed as part of the OBBBA states that half of the fund ($25 billion) will be distributed equally to states with approved applications (i.e., without regard to need) while granting the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) broad discretion over how to distribute the remaining funds. In September 2025, CMS released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) explaining that the remainder ($25 billion) would be distributed across approved states based on measures of state need ($12.5 billion), as well as the quality of proposed initiatives, state policy, and other factors. The state application deadline was on November 5, 2025. CMS is required to make award decisions by the end of the year and plans to distribute the first $10 billion in January 2026.For New York’s rural counties, the findings raise questions about how well national funding models align with on-the-ground behavioral health needs and local capacity. Read more here.
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SNAP Benefits and Refugees, Asylees, and other Humanitarian Immigrants
Today NYS and other states asked the federal government to correct policy denying SNAP to refugees, asylees, and other humanitarian immigrants. A link to the letter is in the press release (linked below). Note: The same standards are used for Medicaid in HR1 (OBBBA) so the same issues will arise.
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Children’s Issues
A growing number of children diagnosed with ADHD are being placed on multiple psychiatric medications—often beginning at very young ages and frequently without prior behavioral therapy, despite clinical guidelines recommending it. Analysis of Medicaid data shows that children started on ADHD drugs are far more likely to end up on additional psychotropic medications, including antipsychotics and antidepressants, even though evidence supporting multidrug regimens in developing brains is limited. Side effects from stimulants, misdiagnosed trauma, pressure from schools, and limited access to behavioral health care all contribute to additional prescribing, sometimes leading to long-term medication use with uncertain benefits and significant risks. Clinicians warn that young children are often medicated without comprehensive psychiatric evaluations, and that trauma or behavioral challenges may be better addressed through therapy rather than layering medications. (Article here)