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By: Staples S.C.R. No. 37
(In the Senate - Filed May 16, 2005; May 16, 2005, read
first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human Services;
May 20, 2005, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 7,
Nays 0; May 20, 2005, sent to printer.)
SENATE 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
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 the
United States Department of Health and Human Services 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.
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