Washington, DC - Congress cleared a key hurdle Wednesday in the road to passing a much-needed mental health reform bill, according to the American Psychological Association.
“Today’s House vote marks a major success,” said APA President Susan H. McDaniel, PhD. “The legislation advances vital reforms to federal mental health policy to increase access to effective and evidence-based care, particularly for those with serious mental illness.”
The bill, H.R. 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, passed by an overwhelming 422-2 vote. Lead sponsors are Reps. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., a clinical psychologist, and Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas.
APA has worked for the past four years to pass mental health legislation that provides essential prevention services, treatment for populations in need, and support for education and training. The bill passed today:
- Reauthorizes important federal programs to improve mental health: the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant program, the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative, the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act and other early childhood interventions.
- Increases access to mental health services in Medicaid.
- Authorizes for the first time the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline program and increases funds for preventing adult suicide.
- Authorizes and increases funding for the Minority Fellowship Program, the only program dedicated to increasing culturally competent mental health care.
- Funds a workforce program to train health service psychologists to work in community mental health settings.
- Establishes grants to support the development of statewide child telemental health care access programs, with networks of child and adolescent psychologists and psychiatrists to work with pediatric primary care providers.
A similar bill awaits a floor vote in the Senate. “APA and our allies will continue to pursue strategies to ensure that mental health legislation is signed into law this year,” McDaniel said.
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes more than 117,500 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.