OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANT DISORDER: Advocacy Needed for $100 Million Increase in Services Funding!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Advocacy Needed for $100 Million Increase in Services Funding!

Advocacy Needed for $100 Million Increase in Services Funding!

April 9, 2009

One month after the release of Grading the States 2009, the report continues to have an impact on policy debates at the federal and state level. NAMI's landmark report documents the decline of public mental health systems in states across the nation and enormous lack of progress in providing evidence-based, cost-effective, recovery-oriented, services for adults living with serious mental illnesses.

Now you have a chance to help improve the quality of state mental health services. This past week Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) initiated an effort to secure an additional $100 million for the Mental Health Block Grant program for FY 2010. The program, which provides grants to states to support mental health services, was funded at $428 million for FY 2009 and has not been increased in a decade. It has lost nearly 55% of its purchasing power since 2001. While the program is only a small piece of overall public mental health funding, it is a critical resource in underserved areas and is, in many states, the only source of funding for services for uninsured adults with serious mental illness.

Act Now!

Contact your Senators today and tell them to support Senator Stabenow's effort to increase the Mental Health Block Grant by $100 million for FY 2010. Urge them to sign on to her letter to the Appropriations Committee before May 1st. View the Senator's "Dear Colleague" letter announcing her effort.

NAMI E-News Alerts are electronic newsletters provided free of charge as a public service. With more than 1,100 state and local affiliates, NAMI is the nation's largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe mental illnesses. Contributions to support our work can be made online.

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