ࡱ> AD@[ bjbj1[1[ >(S1\S1\4 4 8$.V88(```;;;z.|.|.|.|.|.|.$Q14.;;;;;.``.;j``z.;z.r(T)` (f..0.(4'4))4b*;;;;;;;..;;;.;;;;4;;;;;;;;;4 > r: August 6, 2015 The Honorable Lamar Alexander The Honorable Patty Murray Chairman Ranking Member Health, Education, Labor, and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Pensions Committee U.S. Senate U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senators Alexander and Murray: The Mental Health Liaison Group (MHLG)- a coalition of national organizations representing consumers/patients, family members, advocates, professionals and providers- is writing to express our support for S. 1893, the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015. We applaud your bipartisan leadership on legislation reauthorizing and improving programs aimed at increasing awareness, prevention, and early identification of mental health conditions, and promoting linkages to evidence-based treatments and services for children and youth. Among the important provisions included for reauthorization is the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, one of the foundational programs underpinning our national suicide prevention strategy. S. 1893 also reauthorizes the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative, which addresses childhood trauma in environments as varied as gun violence and natural disasters, and is a critically important national resource for all child-serving systems. The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015 also fosters early detection of widely prevalent mental disorders by key segments of the community, including teachers and emergency personnel. Finally, we commend you for calling for an investigation and analysis of federal requirements that act as barriers to the greater integration of mental and behavioral health care with primary care, for making improvements to our nations awareness and understanding of treatment approaches to opioid use disorders, and for the other notable provisions of S. 1893. Congratulations to both of you for your bipartisanship on these important mental health issues. We look forward to continuing to work with you to enact this legislation and to advance related mental health reform efforts through the Senate. Sincerely, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry American Academy of Pediatrics American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Page 2, Senators Alexander and Murray American Association on Health and Disability * American Dance Therapy Association American Foundation for Suicide Prevention American Group Psychotherapy Association American Hospital Association American Mental Health Counselors Association American Nurses Association American Occupational Therapy Association American Orthopsychiatric Association American Psychiatric Association American Psychiatric Nurses Association American Psychological Association Anxiety and Depression Association of America Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law Clinical Social Work Association Clinical Social Work Guild Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy & Action First Focus Campaign for Children Learning Disabilities Association of America Mental Health America National Alliance on Mental Illness National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health National Association for Childrens Behavioral Health National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems National Association of School Psychologists National Association of Social Workers National Association of State Directors Alcohol & Drug Abuse Directors National Association of State Directors of Special Education National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors National Council for Behavioral Health NHMH-No Health without Mental Health School Social Work Association of America Tourette Association of America ZERO TO THREE *MHLG Observer Group     Mental Health Liaison Group National organizations representing consumers, family members, advocates, professionals and providers c/o Laurel Stine, J.D., American Psychological Association at  HYPERLINK "mailto:lstine@apa.org" lstine@apa.org and Debbie Plotnick, MSS, MLSP, Mental Health America at  HYPERLINK "mailto:dplotnick@mentalhealthamerica.net" dplotnick@mentalhealthamerica.net = N  O?@A7{uwx浠qddYNCh7h:%3OJQJh7hQOJQJh7h,QOJQJh7hmOJPJQJh7hmCJOJQJaJhBhBOJQJ(h7hm>*B*CJOJQJaJph)h7hmB*CJOJQJ^JaJph5h7hmB*CJOJPJQJ^JaJmH phsH h7hubOJQJh7h2OJQJh7hmOJQJh7hmCJOJQJaJJg = N  OAL+Nygdm$a$gdB$a$gdmgdmgdmgdm 4Z{%Ty8e{7dMt$a$gdm9:; $ H*$a$gd$a$gd$a$gdgd$a$gd4C P^P`gdmgdm$a$gdmx9:;οs`P@h&Sr@B* CJOJQJphh@B* CJOJQJph%h\h@B* CJOJQJphh\h>*B* phhth!h\hB* CJ@OJQJphh7jh7UhU/.h4CCJaJhmhmCJOJQJaJh7hmCJOJQJaJh%hmCJaJhmh7h[COJQJh7h[COJPJQJh7hmOJQJJNOʹʹﵱhU/.h4CCJaJh7hth hzdh&Sr0J@CJOJQJ(jh&Sr@B* CJOJQJUphh&Sr@B* CJOJQJphh@B* CJOJQJph$a$gd4C $ H*$a$gd< 0 0&P1:pb/ =!"#$`% s002 0@P`p2( 0@P`p 0@P`p 0@P`p 0@P`p 0@P`p 0@P`p8XV~ 0@ 0@ 0@ 0@ 0@ 0@ 0@ 0@ 0@ 0@ 0@ 0@ 0@ 0@_HmH nH sH tH 8`8 Normal_HmH sH tH >>  Heading 1$$@&a$CJXX  Heading 2$*$1$@& CJOJQJhtH u\@\  Heading 3$*$1$@& 0>*@OJQJhtH uJJ  Heading 5$*$@&  5>*CJDA D Default Paragraph FontViV  Table Normal :V 44 la (k (No List L@L Header1$ !CJOJQJhtH uL @L Footer1$ !CJOJQJhtH uN+N  Endnote Text1$CJOJQJhtH u:B@": Body TextxOJQJ6U`16 '0 Hyperlink >*B*ph8/A8 RpenCJOJQJ^JaJphHRH i Balloon TextCJOJQJ^JaJN/aN , emailstyle18CJOJQJ^JaJo(ph<Zr< t Plain Text OJQJ^J@^@ &Sr0 Normal (Web) CJPJaJ.X . 71Emphasis6]H@H  - No SpacingCJOJPJQJ^JaJTT  - List Paragraph ^CJOJPJQJaJZoZ mDefault 7$8$H$%B*CJPJ_HaJmH phsH tH PK![Content_Types].xmlN0EH-J@%ǎǢ|ș$زULTB l,3;rØJB+$G]7O٭VvnB`2ǃ,!"E3p#9GQd; H xuv 0F[,F᚜K sO'3w #vfSVbsؠyX p5veuw 1z@ l,i!b I jZ2|9L$Z15xl.(zm${d:\@'23œln$^-@^i?D&|#td!6lġB"&63yy@t!HjpU*yeXry3~{s:FXI O5Y[Y!}S˪.7bd|n]671. tn/w/+[t6}PsںsL. 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