What's Inside:
NMHA Responds to the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

What Does Systems Transformation Look Like?

"Roadmap" for Transforming the Mental Health System Released

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From the MHA Field

Research Notes

About 20 million adults and 6 million children and teenagers in America have serious mental illnesses. And, despite the recommendations of the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health in 2003 to reform the current system, too many people remain untreated, stigmatized, and incarcerated instead of in treatment programs, and are suffering needlessly.

National Consumer Supporter Technical Assistance Center Resources Be sure to visit the Web site of NMHA’s National Consumer Supporter Technical Assistance Center (NCSTAC) at www.ncstac.org. Here, you can find many resources on how to establish and run a successful consumer-supporter nonprofit organization. The resources range from how to file for 501(c)(3) status and a guide to proposal writing to developing a strategic plan and working with volunteers.

This is the conclusion of the new report “Emergency Response: A Roadmap for Federal Action on America’s Mental Health Crisis,” released last month by the Campaign for Mental Health Reform. The Campaign is a coalition of 16 national organizations, including NMHA, that are united in an effort to transform the country’s ailing mental healthcare system.

In finding the nation’s mental healthcare system in “disarray,” the President’s New Freedom Commission report called for a “ fundamental transformation of the nation’s approach to mental health care.”

“Yet, since the release of the Commission’s report,” said Michael Faenza, NMHA’s president and CEO, “63,000 Americans have died by suicide; more than 200,000 Americans with mental illnesses have been incarcerated; more than 25,000 families have given up custody of their children in order to get mental health services; $200 million has been spent ‘warehousing’ youth in juvenile justice facilities instead of providing treatment; and the American economy has lost more than $150 billion in productivity due to unaddressed mental health needs.”

The report provides 28 action steps as a mental healthcare reform “roadmap” for Congress and the administration to follow in transforming the system. These steps reflect the Campaign’s goals to make mental health a national priority, and to ensure that early access, recovery and quality in mental health services are the hallmarks of our nation’s mental health system.

Among the 28 steps are proposals to end discrimination by health insurance plans through enactment of parity legislation this year; to provide early identification and effective treatment for returning veterans at risk of post-traumatic stress disorders and their families; and to fund programs to divert people with mental illnesses who have committed nonviolent crimes into treatment programs instead of jails or prisons.

To download a copy of “Emergency Response: A Roadmap for Federal Action on America’s Mental Health Crisis,” visit www.nmha.org.