The House Appropriations Labor-HHS subcommittee has announced it will mark up next year’s Labor-HHS spending bill at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 18th.

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Many issues are at stake for children’s mental health in the 2013 budget. President Obama’s budget requests included cuts to a variety of programs funded under SAMHSA, and the House leadership has indicated it wants to see steep cuts in all areas of the budget. A significant area of concern is the proposed  29 million dollar reduction in funding for the Child Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) in 2013. Traditionally, CMHI has been the vehicle through which SAMHSA provides funds for children’s mental health services. Without these funds from the federal government, states and communities will no longer have the means to provide children’s mental health services that are informed by the system of care values and principles.

• Network faithful spoke out in great numbers during the Senate subcommittee markup period. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee rejected the Administration proposal to slash funding for children’s mental health services by 28 million and is instead, recommended that the 2012 level of 117 + million be maintained for 2013.
• Now it is time for the House to do the same during the House subcommittee markup. These Committee hearings are the best place for children’s mental health advocates to make ourselves heard and voice our concerns about our funding priorities for 2013. Time is of the essence. Lawmakers need to be prepared to go into the markups prepared to offer amendments to protect SAMHSA funding.

As Congress puts together the 2013 budget, the Children’s Mental Health Network urges legislators to:

• Preserve funding for the SAMHSA Child Mental Health Initiative at its 2012 levels

  As of May 2012, there are 313,544,041 people in the United States and 27.3% of them are under 20 years old.  If one in 5 has a mental health need (diagnosed or not) that’s 17,119,500 children and youth. There are more children and youth who face mental health challenges than those with heart disease, cancer and diabetes combined. The Child Mental Health Initiative has been a flagship program for SAMHSA and has provided much needed information about effective practices, technical assistance and support, and guidance direction to states and communities about how to most effectively meet the needs of children with mental health challenges and their families. Yet, the Initiative is facing severe cuts that will cripple SAMHSA’s ability to continue its leadership role helping states and communities to make a positive impact on how mental health services and supports are designed and delivered to children, youth, and families. Please do your part to halt the erosion of SAMHSA’s Child Mental Health Initiative.

Please check the list below to learn if your Representative is on the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, then click the Take Action button to write to them today about the importance of fully funding SAMHSA, with particular emphasis on keeping the Child Mental Health Initiative funded at the 2012 level!

House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee Members:

Republicans