Senate bill would unleash $586 million attack on treatment gap.(Brief Article)

Publication: Mental Health Weekly

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COPYRIGHT 2001 Manisses Communications Group, Inc.

A bill introduced late last week by U.S. Sens. Pete V. Domenici (R.N.M.) and Edward M. Kennedy (D.-Mass.) resembles a mental health treatment advocate's wish list. The legislation would authorize $586.5 million in fiscal 2001 funding for a multifaceted strategy to close the mental health treatment gap by improving identification of people who are falling through the cracks of the system.

The bill (S.2639) would authorize funding for several new initiatives, including competitive grants for the creation of emergency mental heath centers for crisis intervention; programs to divert offenders with mental illness into the community-based service system; grants for integrated treatment of the dually diagnosed; and training of law enforcement officials, teachers and primary care physicians in identifying and assisting people in need of mental health treatment.

The legislation also contains some elements that could spark debate, including federally supported research...

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