CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News
July 22, 2003, Vol. 03-61

STATEMENT BY TOMMY G. THOMPSON
Secretary of Health and Human Services

Regarding the Report of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health

The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health today has delivered a thorough and thoughtful report in response to the President's call to study comprehensively America's mental health service system and advise the President as to how the system could be improved. This historic report, Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America, marks a significant milestone in our efforts to fulfill the goals of the President's New Freedom Initiative to enable people with disabilities, including people with mental illnesses, to live, work, learn, and participate fully in their communities. I commend the work of the commissioners and their dedication to improving the lives of millions of Americans now living with mental illnesses.

As we mark the 13th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, this report makes an important contribution for Americans with mental health related disabilities in particular.

Under the leadership of Charles Curie, the administrator of our Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, HHS will conduct a thorough review and assessment of the this report with the goal of implementing appropriate steps to strengthen our mental health system. This work will be important not only in improving our service to those with mental illness and their families, but also as part of our commitment to make every segment of the nation's health care system work better and work together for all Americans.

Our challenge is to build a mental health care system that is both consumer and family driven and focused on recovery and resilience. We will be looking in particular at the programs cited by the commission as models of mental health care transformation. Our aim will be to identify ways in which the best elements of these models can be brought to scale nationwide.

###

The Commission report and press release are available at www.MentalHealthCommission.gov