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79R16671 CME-D

By:  Davis of Harris                                            H.C.R. No. 193



CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, In 2002, President George W. Bush announced the 
creation of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health; the 
commission was charged to study the mental health delivery system 
and make recommendations aimed at helping Americans overcome the 
stigma surrounding mental illnesses, the unfair restrictions on 
treatment and financial requirements associated with mental health 
benefits in private health insurance policies, and the 
fragmentation of service delivery; and
	WHEREAS, The commission's final report, submitted to the 
president in July 2003, presented a stark analysis of mental health 
in the United States;  the commission concluded that mental illness 
is common and often untreated, that there is need for greater 
coordination between mental health care providers and primary 
health care providers, that the mental health system overwhelms 
many consumers and underserves minority populations, and that there 
is too lengthy a delay before advances in research reach actual 
practice; and
	WHEREAS, Regrettably, Texas is not immune to many of the 
challenges to effective delivery of mental health care; in 2002, 
the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 
identified 3.1 million adults and 1.2 million Texas children who 
suffered from some form of diagnosable mental health disorder, yet 
the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation was 
able to serve only an estimated 26 percent of eligible children and 
38 percent of eligible adults in that same year; and
	WHEREAS, In response to the commission's findings, the 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of DHHS 
developed the Mental Health Transformation State Incentive Grant 
program to support a range of infrastructure and service delivery 
improvements and build a solid foundation for delivering and 
sustaining effective mental health and related services; and
	WHEREAS, Recognizing the need to provide high-quality mental 
health care services and eliminate the current fragmented system of 
delivery for those services, Governor Rick Perry has applied for 
the Mental Health Transformation State Incentive Grant; this 
endeavor is in keeping with the legislature's dedication to 
maximizing all available resources to provide the best possible 
care to the citizens of this state, and it is appropriate to support 
the governor's effort at this time; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 79th Legislature of the State of Texas 
express its support for the governor's application to the United 
States Department of Health and Human Services for the Substance 
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Mental Health 
Transformation State Incentive Grant.