December 2010

To the National Council Board, Members, and Partners

I’m taking the opportunity of the holiday season to send you a brief note of heartfelt thanks from me and the National Council staff. We are so very grateful for your leadership, enthusiasm, and support.

Together we have helped make progress on behalf of Americans with mental illnesses and substance use disorders and though much remains undone, we can be proud of our collective efforts and successes. 

The New Year – 2011 – will be difficult. States are continuing to experience the effects of the recession, dealing with looming public sector debt, and facing the end of federal stimulus dollars. In Washington DC, the battle over spending cuts will begin in earnest in February with strong voices galvanized and ready to rethink America’s safety net in the name of deficit reduction. We are already developing 2011 strategies and tactics, coordinating our national advocacy plans with the efforts of our network of state and local association partners. 

Close to home, state funded services are under siege and we expect an assault on SAMSHA’s services and programs that treat the uninsured, support innovation, and attack consumer isolation and discrimination. We will need every one of you to fight to keep the gains we have made. At the same time, we must ensure the promises of parity are kept and that the hopes we have for healthcare reform are realized. And as always we must move forward, righting the wrongs of the past and creating new opportunities — promoting legislation that brings reimbursement equality to behavioral health and legislation that gives people with behavioral health disorders the benefits of the technology revolution.

But before 2010 comes to a close, we want to say thank you. Thank you for helping grow our membership to 1,800 organizations strong; for our policy accomplishments; and for the success of our practice improvement, leadership development and public education initiatives. You are wonderful collaborators and we are so fortunate.

Wishing you and your family the happiest of holidays.

Best Regards,
 
Linda Rosenberg, MSW
President and CEO
National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare