CONSUMER AFFAIRS BULLETIN
Volume 3, No. 2 Summer 1998

CMHS National Advisory Council Approves Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee

In an exciting development, on May 7, 1998, the CMHS National Advisory Council resolved unanimously to form a subcommittee of consumer/survivor advocates and council members. The purpose of the Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues would be to report to the CMHS National Advisory Council on the specific needs, issues and concerns from consumer/survivor perspectives that the Council can consider when developing recommendations and advising the CMHS Director. The subcommittee would serve as a fact-finding body for the CMHS National Advisory Council. The development of this subcommittee originates at the request of members of the CMHS National Advisory Council as well as the CMHS Director and numerous consumer/survivor organizations. A total of ten consumers/survivors will be chosen as members of the subcommittee. Members will serve four-year, staggered terms.

In order to assure that the process of establishing the subcommittee is consumer/survivor-directed, a Subcommittee Planning Group will be established composed of representatives of consumer/survivor advocacy organizations, CMHS staff, and representatives of the CMHS National Advisory Council. The Planning Group will design a blueprint for establishing the subcommittee and will be charged with establishing possible criteria for individual subcommittee membership, the characteristics of the group as a whole and possible processes for identifying and selecting potential members and initial terms.

For more information on the Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues, contact Consumer Affairs Specialist Paolo del Vecchio, at (301) 443-2619.

Consumer Affairs Bulletin
Volume 3, No. 2, Summer 1998