Recommendations to the Trump Administration Regarding Mental Health Policy

SUMMARY

The Mental Health Law Committee (Naomi Weinstein, Chair) sent a report urged the Trump Administration to consider a number of measures to provide better treatment and opportunities to millions of Americans with mental illness, including: (1) programs that provide better training for police officers who interact with persons with mental illness or who are in psychiatric crisis; (2) programs to provide better mental health treatment for persons in correctional facilities; (3) programs to provide better community supports for persons with mental illness; and (4) programs to provide mental health education in public schools to reduce stigma and provide early access to treatment.  The report cites sobering statistics, such as the fact that mental illness affects approximately 44 million adults in the United States, or about one in five Americans; and that, of these, approximately 9.8 million suffer from a serious mental illness. “The need for comprehensive, effective and accessible treatment for persons with mental illness is a bipartisan issue that we urge the incoming Administration to address.”