The Virginia General Assembly approved amendments to the state’s two-year budget Saturday that included education initiatives and Medicaid reforms.

State budget language adopted by the House Appropriations Committee would delay the expansion of Medicaid and other benefits of the new federal health-care law in Virginia, a statewide group said Wednesday.

The Virginia House of Delegates released its proposed amendments to the 2012-2014 state budget Sunday, seeking to pump more money into the commonwealth’s “rainy day” fund, education and Medicaid.

Calling it a “historic opportunity,” mental health advocates are awaiting a judge’s approval of a settlement agreement that would improve the lives of thousands of Virginia’s intellectually disabled citizens.

A Mechanicsville family faces uncertainty because of shortcomings in Virginia’s mental health care system. As they age, the parents of 22-year-old Justin Palmore worry what will happen to him – and whether he will be forced into an institution.