Thursday, July 7, 2016 8:59 am
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WASHINGTON - Congressman Frank Guinta (NH-01), a co-sponsor of the legislation, voted today for the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act. For the first time the bill would evaluate federal mental health programs' effectiveness, eliminate many overlapping and outdated programs to focus resources, and increase congressional oversight of state grants.
The bill overcomes legal hurdles to patient care, allowing parents and caregivers to act as representatives to those in need of treatment, as well as ensuring those individuals maintain treatment regimens.
"Federal mental health programs are a patchwork of antiquated programs across agencies. Jails have become de facto mental health facilities," said Guinta, Manchester's former mayor, who during his two terms made mental health and homelessness a focus of his administration.
"As a caregiver to a family member with a mental health issue, I know how difficult finding proper treatment can be," he said. "Also, the country is experiencing an epidemic of drug abuse, closely related to mental health disorders. It's time we recognize these problems for what they are: diseases creating a public health emergency."
Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the death rate in the United States - the number of deaths per 100,000 people - rose for the first time in a decade, due to drug overdoses and suicide. Guinta also founded the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic, which includes over 80 members of Congress.
The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act also creates a nationwide leadership position at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, expands mental health training for law enforcement officers, increases access to in-patient psychiatric services, and advances tele-psychiatry in rural areas.