The state's haunting experience with its safe haven law last fall created a new imperative to provide better physical and behavioral health services for our children. Last week the Legislature passed and the governor signed LB603, which is an important first step in what should be a continuing effort to improve health care for our children and address the failures in our children's behavioral health system.

First, this bill makes it possible for more children to access the health care they need through Nebraska's Kids Connection program, the state's public health insurance program for children. Thanks to Sen. Bill Avery's leadership and the Health and Human Services Committee's dedication to including an eligibility increase in this package, more of our children will be able to go to a doctor when they are sick, will be healthy enough to learn in school and will get the preventative care they need to give their lives a healthy start.

This increase in eligibility for Kids Connection also brings Nebraska in line with at least 44 other states that have long been providing health care to more of their low-income children. During this economic downturn, programs such as Kids Connection become even more important to maintain the health of our children and keep families afloat when they face the loss of a job or insurance.

Second, the bill begins to address the lack of behavioral health services that was so painfully exposed last year. The legislation creates a 24/7 statewide hot line that is intended to create a single point of access for children's behavioral health triage and establishes a Family Navigator Program designed to connect families with trained peer support.

Importantly, the new law also provides for voluntary case management services for adoptive and guardianship families of former state wards. The lack of assistance to families after the adoption or guardianship process has been a longstanding gap in the system and was a problem identified in a number of the safe haven cases. The largest portion of funding in the new law, about $8 million, is directed to these programs. In addition, the legislation includes an initial investment of $1.5 million in children's behavioral health services across the state.

These are positive first steps, but more work remains to be done. If the hot line and Family Navigator Program are to be successful, there must be services to which they can direct families in crisis. Many past reports and studies in the state have demonstrated a need for increasing the capacity of existing community based behavioral health services.

So, it is disappointing that a larger share of the resources in this package were not directed to that purpose. LB603 does create eight new residency positions in psychiatry at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Those residents will be obligated to serve a period of time in rural areas, a helpful first step to increase the behavioral health work force. But, much more must be done to improve the availability of behavioral health services for children and thereby support the work of the hot line.

The creation of the Children's Behavioral Health Oversight Committee will be key to ensuring that continued improvements are made. The Committee, which will consist of nine senators, will monitor the implementation of LB603, continue to study the issue and needed improvements, and provide a mechanism for public accountability.

This was an important and wise addition to LB603 and reflects the Legislature's serious commitment to helping these vulnerable children and families who have been struggling to deal with the often devastating effects of mental illness.

The choices we make together as a state shape the society in which we live. By providing care for the most vulnerable among us, we help create an environment in which we all can thrive. As many legislators recognize, this is only the first step in what must be a continuing process to improve our children's health for the benefit of those children and all Nebraskans.

Rebecca L. Gould is executive director of Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest.