The Community Mental Health Services Improvement Act
(S. 2182 and HR. 5176)

Overview

Community mental health has been chronically underfunded for many years and struggles to meet basic health needs of those it serves in the face of low reimbursement rates, shrinking budgets, and workforce shortages. This landmark legislation — the Community Mental Health Services Improvement Act (S. 2182 introduced in the Senate by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) on October 17, 2007 and HR. 5176 introduced in the House by Representatives Gene Green (D-TX) and Timothy Murphy (R-PA) on January 29, 2008 — seeks to strengthen the nation’s community mental health system.
 
Since 2005, the National Council has worked hard to draft and champion this legislation and find Congressional sponsors. 
 
The Community Mental Health Services Improvement Act calls for two major provisions — to colocate primary care services in community mental health settings and to support innovative programs for mental health workforce recruitment and retention.
 
Passage of this legislation will allow mental health providers to recruit qualified primary care professionals to provide essential health services to patients with serious mental illness. This is a critical need, given that we now know that patients with mental illness die on average 25 years earlier than the general population, largely due to chronic and unattended medical conditions.
 
The Community Mental Health Services Improvement Act also provides for innovative programs to address behavioral health workforce needs in designated mental health professional shortage areas. The act calls for loan forgiveness and repayment as well as expanded education and training to support the recruitment and retention of qualified mental health workers, especially for racial and ethnic minorities.

Specific provisions of HR 5176

Specific Provisions of S. 2182

• Creating a new federal grants program to support co-locating primary care/chronic care services at community mental health facilities funded at $50 million in FY 2009 and authorized through FY 2013. 
• Integrating treatment for mental health and substance abuse co-occurring disorders funded at $14 million in FY 2009, $20 million in FY 2010 and authorized through FY 2013.
• Improving the mental health workforce through grants for the recruitment and retention of mental health professionals funded at $10 million in FY 2009 and authorized through FY 2013.
• Enhancing behavioral and mental health education and training program through a new grants program to establish or expand accredited programs funded at $4 million in FY 2009 and authorized through FY 2013.
• Establishing a new $20 million federal grants program to finance infrastructure costs for telecommunications technology supporting tele-psychiatry and patient education at community mental health facilities located in rural and other medically underserved areas.
• Requiring the Secretaries of the HHS and DVA collaborate with the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology and SAMHSA to develop and implement a plan for ensuring that various components of the National Health Information Infrastructure address mental health and substance abuse provider needs supported by $10 million in funding in FY 2009.
• Commissioning the Institute of Medicine to complete and submit to Congress a paperwork reduction study to be completed no later than a year after enactment that evaluates the combined paperwork burden of qualified community mental health programs funded at $550,000.
• Directing a nationwide analysis and submission of a report to Congress of the compensation structure of professional and paraprofessional mental health personnel as compared with that of other health safety net and private sector employers also funded at $550,000.
  

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Please share copies of your letters with the National Council. Contact Allison Fort at AllisonF@thenationalcouncil.org to share copies of your letters with the National Council so that we may track support for the bill.

Letters of Support

Read some of the letters of support we've received for the Community Mental Health Services Improvement Act

American Psychological Association

Campaign for Mental Health Reform

Mental Health America

Mental Health Liaison Group (S. 2182/S. 2183)

Mental Health Liaison Group (HR 5176)

National Alliance for Mental Illness

National Association of Community Health Centers, National Association of Counties, and National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors

National Association of County and City Health Officials

Trust for America's Health

The National Council thanks the following member organizations that have also sent letters of support for the Community Mental Health Services Improvement Act: 

• Mental Health Center of North Central Alabama - AL

• Alabama Council of Community Mental Health Boards - AL

• Mental Health Center of Madison County - AL

• Western AR Counseling and Guidance Center - AR

• Ozark Guidance - AR

• Mid-South Health Systems - AR

• Counseling Services of Eastern Arkansas - AR

• Counseling Associates, Inc. - AR

• Arizona Council of Human Service Providers - AZ

• Mental Health Association in California - CA

• California Coalition for Mental Health - CA

• Colorado Behavioral Health Council - CO

• Arapahoe/Douglas Mental Health Network - CO

• Birmingham Group Health Services, Inc. - CT

• Rushford Center Inc. - CT

• Connecticut Community Providers Association - CT

• Cobb County Community Services Board - GA

• Behavioral Health Resources - IA

• Northeast Iowa Behavioral Health, Inc. - IA

• North Central Behavioral Health Systems, Inc. - IL

• Community Behavioral Healthcare Assn. - IL

• Robert Young Center - IL

• Southern Illinois Regional - IL

• Heritage Behavioral Health - IL

• Adult and Child, Inc. - IN

• Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas, Inc. - KS

• KARP, Inc. - KY

• Mental Health and Substance Abuse Corporations of Massachusetts, Inc. - MA

• The Meyers Group - MD

• Community Behavioral Health Association of MD - MD

• Michigan Association of CMH Boards - MI

• Eastpointe - NC

• Northern Human Services - NH

• Monadnock Family Services - NH

• The Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester - NH

• NYS Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare - NY

• Ohio Council of Behavioral Healthcare  Providers - OH

• Shawnee Mental Health Center, Inc. - OH

• Lifeworks Northwest - OR

• Association of Oregon Community Mental Health Programs - OR

• Rhode Island Council of CMH Organizations - RI

• Park Center, Inc. - TN

• Tennessee Association of Mental Health Organizations (TAMHO) - TN

• TX Council of Community MH/MR Centers - TX

• Vermont Council of Developmental and Mental Health Services - VT

• Highline West Seattle Mental Health - WA

• Community Psychiatric Clinic - WA

• Willapa Counseling Center - WA

• Grant Mental Health Care - WA

• Cowlitz County Guidance Association - WA

• Behavioral Health Resources - WA

• Washington Community Mental Health Council - WA

• Spokane Mental Health - WA

• Okanogan County Behavioral Health - WA