Several federal agencies will colla...

Several federal agencies will collaborate to help make secure that persons with mental illness have an opportunity for regaining according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The Social Security Administration and Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban unravelling Justice, Labor, and Veterans Affairs have detailed 70 specific paces in a mental health action agenda, "Transforming Mental Health Care in America. The Federal Action Agenda: First Steps" Highlights of the agenda include: reinforcing the message that mental illnesses and emotional disturbances are treatable and that retrieval is expected; developing a plan to exalt a mental health workforce better qualified to practice mental health care that is culturally sensitive and based onward evidencebased practices in specialty settings and at the primary care level; promoting early intervention with informed parental acquiescence for children identified to be at risk for mental disorders; expanding the "Science-to-Services" agenda to bring to maturity new toolkits outlining evidence-based practices for use from providers, administrators, educators, and consumers; and designing an electronic health records and information method that will help providers and consumer better manage mental health care and that will save the privacy and confidentiality of consumers' health information. Additional information is available online at http://www.samhsa. gov/Federalactionagenda/NFC_TOC.aspx.

COPYRIGHT 2005 American Academy of Family Physicians

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