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The President’s New Freedom Commission: Capitalizing on Opportunities to Advance School-Based Mental Health Services

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The report from President George W. Bush’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (NFC), Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America(2003), proposes goals and recommendations for improving mental health services. This report has significant implications for the delivery of mental health services through the schools. A focused discussion of the potential opportunities and challenges of implementing NFC recommendations related to school-based mental health is presented. Strategies for addressing five key areas at the intersection of school mental health and the Commission’s recommendations include: stigma reduction, suicide prevention, expansion and improvement of school mental health, and screening and treatment of co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Supported in full by Project U93 MC 00174 from the Office of Adolescent Health, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Title V, Social Security Act), Health Resources and Service Administration, Department of Health and Human Services. This project is co-funded by the Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services. The views, policies, and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) or Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for School Mental Health Analysis and Action, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Carrie Mills, Sharon Hoover Stephan, Elizabeth Moore, Mark D. Weist & Brian P. Daly

  2. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Washington, DC, USA

    Michele Edwards

  3. Center for School Mental Health Analysis and Action, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, Baltimore, 737 West Lombard St., 4th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland, 21201, USA

    Sharon Hoover Stephan

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  1. Carrie Mills
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  2. Sharon Hoover Stephan
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  3. Elizabeth Moore
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Correspondence to Sharon Hoover Stephan.

Appendix

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Table 1 NFC Recommendations Connected to School Mental Health
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Mills, C., Stephan, S.H., Moore, E. et al. The President’s New Freedom Commission: Capitalizing on Opportunities to Advance School-Based Mental Health Services. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 9, 149–161 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-006-0003-3

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