Citation

J. Rural Ment. Health 2007; 31(4): 66-91.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, National Association for Rural Mental Health, Publisher American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/h0095978

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

President George W. Bush established the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health in April 2002. The president directed the Commission to identify policies that could be implemented by Federal, State, and local governments to maximize the utility of existing resources, improve coordination of treatments and services, and promote successful community integration for adults with a serious mental illness and children with a serious emotional disturbance. From June 2002 to April 2003, the 22 commissioners met monthly to analyze the public and private mental health systems, visit innovative model programs across the country and hear testimony from the systems' many stakeholders, including dozens of consumers of mental health care, families, advocates, public and private providers and administrators and mental health researchers. The commission received feedback, comments and suggestions from nearly 2,500 people from all 50 states via personal testimony, letters, emails and a comment section on this website. In addition to public comment, the commission consulted with nationally recognized professionals with expertise in diverse areas of mental health policy. The commission established 15 subcommittees to examine specific aspects of mental health services and offer recommendations for improvement. One of these papers was the Rural Issues Background Paper which is reprinted her.

Language: en