Foreword

Our Nation has made great strides in recent years in achieving recovery for persons with mental illnesses. We know much more about how to deliver recovery-oriented mental health care, improve service quality, achieve desired improvements in quality of life outcomes, and implement needed care systems in each community in America. Our goal is a healthy life in the community for everyone.

Current efforts, however, are far from complete. Many individuals find the services they need to be inaccessible owing to distance, cost, or coverage limitations. Others are able to access services, but the services may not be fully evidence based; of the highest quality; respectful of the recipient’s culture, race, and ethnicity; or recovery oriented.

The recent report from the Institute of Medicine, Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions, recommends close coordination among primary care, mental health care, and substance use care. It also advocates for the adoption and application of quality improvement tools so that high-quality care can be provided to all who need it. Mental Health, United States, 2004 addresses each of these issues.

Mental Health, United States, 2004 adds to our knowledge base, helps guide our program and policy direction, and helps us identify where we need to correct our course toward system transformation in mental health care. We hope you will find many uses for the information contained in this volume and that you will join in our goal of helping all Americans with mental illnesses realize healthy, contributing lives in their communities nationwide.

Charles G. Curie, M.A., A.C.S.W., Administrator
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

A. Kathryn Power, M.Ed., Director
Center for Mental Health Services
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration