(12-13-17) I will be participating tomorrow (Thursday) in a press conference being held at SAMHSA to unveil the Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee’s first report to Congress.
Who will speak:
· Eric D. Hargan, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Acting Secretary
· Dr. Elinore F. McCance-Katz, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use
· Dr. Anita Everett, SAMHSA Chief Medical Officer
· Mary Giliberti, ISMICC non-federal member
· Pete Earley, ISMICC non-federal member
WHEN: Thursday, December 14, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. EST
WHERE: Online via webcast. Visit www.samhsa.gov/ismicc on the day of the event for more information.
The ISMICC committee was created by the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act that became law during the final days of the Obama administration after that legislation (pushed by former Rep. Tim Murphy R-Pa.) was incorporated into the 21st Century Cures Act. The new law also created the Assistant Secretary of Mental Health and Substance Abuse – a position held by Dr. Elinore F. McCance-Katz.
Congress created this new Assistant Secretary position and the ISMICC committee because it wanted to prioritize federal mental health reform. Because of time restraints related to federal clearance reviews, this report was written exclusively by the committee’s non-federal members. I am proud that these recommendations come from advocates who have worked tirelessly in the trenches and faced the real problems that I faced.