KANSAS CITY, KS, June 01, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ — Families Rights Matter² (FRM²), founded by Army veteran and minister Leon Shelmire Jr., today introduced the Families Rights Matter2 Act — a sweeping 12-point reform proposal to end the communication blackouts that keep families sidelined during psychiatric emergencies.
The Families Rights Matter2 Act targets long-standing failures in HIPAA, FERPA, and crisis-response protocols that have left parents, spouses, and caregivers uninformed while loved ones face life-or-death mental-health crises. It establishes nationwide standards for family notification, emergency consent, safety updates, and cross-agency coordination.
Why Now
FRM² is pushing the Families Rights Matter2 Act during the 2026 policy cycle, with briefs headed to state and federal lawmakers this summer. The timing follows mounting reports of preventable tragedies linked to privacy misinterpretations and inconsistent crisis standards.
“Families are being shut out when seconds count,” said Shelmire. “The Families Rights Matter2 Act protects privacy while making sure families aren’t left in the dark during emergencies.”
National Model Law
Though based in Kansas City, Kansas, FRM² designed the Families Rights Matter2 Act for adoption by state legislatures, school districts, hospitals, 988 crisis teams, and universities nationwide.
The Families Rights Matter2 Act: 12-Point Framework
Mandatory Family Communication — Requires hospitals, crisis teams, and schools to notify designated family contacts during verified psychiatric or behavioral emergencies so families can intervene before tragedy.
National HIPAA & FERPA Training — Standardizes crisis-era privacy training for hospitals, 988 call centers, schools, and universities to end confusion over what can legally be shared in emergencies.
Updated Consent Rules for Adults in Crisis — Creates emergency consent pathways that let families help make treatment decisions when adults are in psychosis or severe suicidal crisis and unable to consent safely.
Required Safety Updates at Transitions — Mandates family notification at admission, transfer, or discharge from facilities to prevent elopement, suicide, or medical neglect during high-risk handoffs.
Duty to Use Family-Provided History — Requires clinicians to document and consider relevant safety history from families, including prior attempts, medications, and triggers.
National Definition of Psychiatric Incapacity — Sets one clear, clinical standard for when a person cannot make safe medical decisions, ending state-by-state inconsistencies.
Expand HIPAA & FERPA to 988 and Campus Clinics — Applies hospital-level crisis-communication rules to 988 lifelines, mobile crisis teams, and college health centers to close dangerous loopholes.
Mandatory State Action After Repeated Crisis Holds — Triggers state review and care planning when individuals cycle through multiple emergency holds without stabilization or follow-up.
Police Mental-Health Crisis Units — Establishes specially trained law-enforcement units to de-escalate psychiatric emergencies and divert individuals to treatment, not jail.
Correctional Mental-Health Stabilization Units — Creates secure, clinical units inside jails and prisons for inmates in acute psychiatric crisis who need immediate stabilization.
Federal Billing & Workforce Compensation Reform — Modernizes reimbursement rates and pay structures to recruit and retain qualified crisis counselors, social workers, and psychiatric staff.
Inpatient Capacity & IMD Exclusion Reform — Expands psychiatric bed capacity and revises the IMD Exclusion so federal Medicaid funds can support needed inpatient treatment.
The purpose of the Families Rights Matter2 Act is to save lives and prevent avoidable loss by making family partnership standard practice in crisis care.
About Families Rights Matter² (FRM²)
Families Rights Matter² (FRM²) is a Kansas City-based national advocacy organization founded by Army veteran and minister Leon Shelmire Jr. FRM² works to modernize crisis-era communication laws and strengthen family involvement during mental-health and educational emergencies. Through policy reform, training, and public awareness, FRM² seeks to end preventable tragedies caused by outdated privacy interpretations and inconsistent crisis standards. The organization develops model legislation, including the Families Rights Matter2 Act, for adoption by state legislatures, healthcare systems, schools, and crisis-response agencies nationwide.
Learn more at https://familiesrightsmatter2.shelmireministries.org/
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