First and foremost, we applaud President Obama for making mental health a priority and for promoting a greater national understanding of mental health challenges when he stated "someone with a mental illness is far more likely to be a victim of violent crime than the perpetrator."
We are encouraged that the President has embraced many of the strategies and initiatives that the National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health has included in recommendations to Vice President Biden's Task Force. We stand ready to continue to work with the administration to develop lasting solutions and to offer our national network of families to assist in this effort.
President Obama has called for a national dialogue on mental health and we welcome the opportunity to be active participants in this dialogue. The National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health is hopeful that this dialogue will lead to the creation of an Interagency Commission to address strategies for eliminating the stigma associated with both mental illness and addiction and to develop lasting solutions to ensure that all individuals receive needed services and supports.
The National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health is guarded in its response to the recommendation to increase the presence of school resource officers and pledges to work closely with both the House and Senate to reintroduce the Mental Health in Schools Act (HR 751, 112th Congress) which would provide funding for public schools to apply a public health approach to addressing mental health services by providing training for all school personnel and on-site services and supports for students.
As the President's recommendations move forward, the National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health is committed to working in partnership to fulfill the spirit of these recommendations and to ensure that all individuals are granted full access to mental health services and supports.
