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Report of the Presidents New Freedom Commission on Mental Health |
For
Immediate Release: Tuesday, July 20, 2004 Campaign for Mental Health Reform Calls for Improved Performance and Outcome Measurements in Mental HealthWASHINGTON, DC (July 20, 2004) — Dr. Howard Goldman, a nationally recognized expert on mental health policy, today called on lawmakers to enact reforms to improve accountability in the public mental health system. Appearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee’s Subcommittee on Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, Dr. Howard Goldman testified on behalf of the Campaign for Mental Health Reform that public mental health systems must be held accountable if Americans with mental illness are to achieve the promise of recovery and live full lives in the community. “An accountable system is one that can measure both the performance of its programs and the outcomes achieved by the people it serves,” said Goldman to the subcommittee. “With such data, policy-makers and mental health providers may monitor and continually refine their programs. They will learn whom they are reaching (and not reaching), what supports they are providing, what outcomes they are achieving, and what refinements or modifications are needed to enhance its effectiveness.” Goldman noted that despite the existence of effective treatments and services, the majority of individuals who have a diagnosable disorder do not seek or find the help they need. The federal government must play a critical role in helping states enhance and expand performance and outcome measurement systems, according to Goldman. Further, he said, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) must be given authority to work with a broad range of federal agencies to gather data. “Without the leadership, investment, and defined expectations that the federal government is in a position to provide, the impetus for change in this area is likely to atrophy,” said Goldman. “If we are to take transformation seriously, we must empower SAMHSA to work with all agencies in its stewardship of the system.” Dr. Goldman is a professor of psychiatry and Director of Mental Health Policy Studies at the University of Maryland. He also served as both senior scientific editor of the Surgeon General’s 1999 Report on Mental Health and consultant to the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. More Information ### The Campaign for Mental Health Reform has been organized as the mental health community’s united voice on federal policy. Its goal is to make access, recovery, and quality in mental health services the hallmarks of our nation’s mental health system. Its members include organizations representing millions of people with mental or emotional disorders and their families and service providers, administrators and other advocates. Campaign for Mental Health Reform: American Psychiatric Association * American Psychological Association * CHADD - Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder * Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) * Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health (FFCMH) * United States Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (USPRA) * Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law * National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) * National Association of County Behavioral Health Directors (NACBHD) * National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) * National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (NCCBH) * National Empowerment Center (NEC) * National Mental Health Association (NMHA) * National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse * Suicide Prevention Action Network USA (SPANUSA) Steering Committee: Robert Bernstein, Ph.D., Bazelon Center for Mental
Health Law * Robert W. Glover, Ph.D., National Association of State
Mental Health Program Directors * Michael Faenza, MSSW, National Mental
Health Association * Michael Fitzpatrick, MSW, National Alliance for
the Mentally Ill
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©2003 Campaign for
Mental Health Reform |
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