Source: House Representative Tim Murphy (R-PA, 18th)
Washington, D.C. - September 13, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- The House approved all but one of Congressman Tim Murphy's (PA-18) amendments to secure the resources needed to stand up programs previously authorized in the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, which was signed into law last year. This afternoon, the remaining amendment to fund Assisted Outpatient Treatment will be up for a roll call vote.
As Chairman of Oversight & Investigations, Murphy spearheaded a multi-year effort aimed at improving our nation’s broken mental health system by improving our antiquated patchwork of ineffective policies and redirecting $130 billion authorized on mental health and addiction treatment into evidence-based programs and treatment. Finally, last year, Congress succeeded in passing Congressman Murphy's mental health reform bill, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, which was then signed into law as a part of the 21st Century Cures Act. The next step is to translate the promises Congress made into commitments of action by approving Murphy's amendments to provide the resources needed for the authorized programs.
Murphy’s amendments directed dollars to stand up children's mental health services, pediatric mental health care telehealth access programs, better treatment for individuals in the criminal justice system, development of the mental health workforce, and for a database of inpatient psychiatric facilities to strengthen community crisis response systems.
The last of Murphy’s amendments to be voted on provide full funding for assisted-outpatient treatment (AOT) programs, will be considered later this evening. The timing of the vote on Murphy's amendment has not yet been scheduled, but is expected sometime later this evening. Get live updates here.
“It was a moment of hope for millions of families across the country when Congress passed, and the President signed into law, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act,” stated Murphy on the House floor last night. “I am grateful for my colleagues who came together to approve funding for life-saving programs, and ask that as we continue this process, we remember the families in mental health crisis who are counting on us to translate the promises we made into commitments of action.”
When the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act was signed into law as a part of the 21st Century Cures Act, the programs included in the mental health reform bill were approved but not yet funded. The next step is the appropriations process, or the actual funding to translate the law from text on paper to programs in communities. Murphy's amendments are attached to the larger appropriations package, the Make America Secure and Prosperous Act, which will continue to move through the House this week.
The House approved the following amendments last night:
111 Amdt. #77 – Increasing Funds for the Mentally Ill Offender Act (MIOTCRA)
Increases funding by $2 million for the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA) to facilitate collaboration among the criminal justice, juvenile justice, and mental health and substance abuse treatment system to improve access to effective treatment for people with mental illnesses involved with the justice system. Directs that grants be used to create or expand mental health courts, programs for specialized training to criminal or juvenile justice agency officers and mental health personnel in identifying symptoms to respond to individuals with mental illnesses, and to support cooperation between State and local governments with respect to the mentally ill offenders.
175 Amdt. #91 – Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Promotion, Intervention and Treatment
Provides $5 million for grants to develop, maintain, or enhance infant and early childhood mental health promotion, intervention, and treatment programs, including programs for infants and children at significant risk of developing, showing early signs of, or having been diagnosed with mental illness, including a serious emotional disturbance. These programs are to be evidence-based models and practices that can be replicated in other appropriate settings.
176 Amdt. #89 – Increasing Access to Pediatric Mental Health Care
Provides $9 million in grants that will improve access to behavioral health integration in pediatric primary care by supporting the development and improvement of statewide or regional pediatric mental health care telehealth access programs, and further develop regional pediatric mental health teams to provide consultative support for pediatric primary care.
177 Amdt. #88 – Strengthening the Mental and Substance Use Disorders Workforce
Provides $10 million in funding for a training demonstration program awarding grants to train medical residents and fellows to practice psychiatry and addiction medicine, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, health service psychologists, and social workers to provide mental and substance use disorders services. Recipients will integrate primary care with mental and substance use disorder care services in under-served and community-based settings.
179 Amdt. #86 – Strengthening Community Crisis Response Systems
Provides funding for grants to strengthen community crisis response systems to develop, maintain, or enhance a database of inpatient psychiatric facilities, crisis stabilization units, and residential community mental health and residential substance use disorder treatment facilities; addressing a lack of inpatient psychiatric beds. Grant applicants will develop crisis response plans to promote integration and coordination between local public and private entities, including first responders, emergency health care providers, primary care providers, law enforcement, and behavioral health providers.
The House will consider the following amendment today:
155 Amdt. #90 – Assisted Outpatient Treatment
Increases court-ordered Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) by $5 million to the fully authorized amount of $20 million total to support the severely mentally ill, allowing them to get treatment in the community without incarceration or hospitalization. AOT reduces incarceration, homelessness, and emergency room visits by upwards of 70 percent.
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