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Mental
Health Liaison Group
September
27, 2002
The
Honorable Bill Young
Chairman,
House Appropriations Committee
H-218
Capitol Building
Washington,
DC 20515
Dear
Chairman Young:
As
you proceed with the FY 2003 Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations
bill, the undersigned members of the Mental Health Liaison Group (MHLG), a
coalition representing the broad, diverse mental health community that serves
men, women and children, and their families, urge
you to provide additional funding for critical mental
health programs building on the funding levels secured in July’s Senate mark
up of its bill.
The
mental health system in the United States is in "crisis, unable to provide
even the most basic services and supports to people with psychiatric
disabilities," according to a federal report released September 16, 2002.
"The Well Being of Our Nation:
An Inter-Generational Vision of Effective Mental Health Services and
Supports" was compiled by the National Council on Disability, a 15-member
independent federal panel. The
panel concludes that "visionary
leadership, adequate funding and expansion of proven models" are
necessary to begin rehabilitating the system.
Although
the Senate took an important step in restoring proposed cuts for Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) programs, the 1.5 % increase
in the Senate mark up for the Center for Mental Health Services is neither
adequate nor does it provide sufficient resources to begin rehabilitating the
system. Furthermore, the Senate
Committee's appropriation for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) was
$8 million less than the President's recommendation. We urge the House to follow
the President's request.
We
urge you to make mental health funding a priority.
More than ever, we need your continued support and commitment to improve
the availability, accessibility, and quality of services for individuals with
mental illness through increased federal investment in federal mental health
programs. Please work to maintain the Senate’s effort to restore cuts in SAMHSA
funding and to increase funding for NIMH, but also to increase substantially
federal support for community-based mental health early intervention, prevention
and treatment services.
Thank
you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Alliance
for Children and Families
American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American
Association of Children's Residential Centers
American
Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP)
American
Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
American
Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation
American
Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC)
American
Mental Health Counselors Association
American
Psychiatric Association
American
Psychological Association
Association
for the Advancement of Psychology
Bazelon
Center for Mental Health Law
Children
& Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD)
Child
Welfare League of America
Clinical
Social Work Federation
Depression
and Bipolar Support Alliance (formerly National Depressive and Manic-Depressive
Association)
Federation
of Families for Children's Mental Health
International
Assoc. of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services (IAPSRS)
National
Alliance for the Mentally Ill
National
Association of County Behavioral Health Directors
National
Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems (NAPAS)
National
Association of Psychiatric Health Systems
National
Association of School Psychologists
National
Association of Social Workers
National
Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare
National
Mental Health Association
National
Network for Youth
Suicide
Prevention Action Network (SPAN)
cc:
The Honorable David Obey, Ranking Member, House Appropriations Committee
The
Honorable Ralph Regula, Chairman, House Labor, Health and Human Services, and
Education Appropriations Subcommittee
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