The Alliance for Latino Behavioral Health Workforce Development, a strategic partnership of the leading national Latino behavioral health professional organizations, and other key leaders in the Latino health and behavioral health professions, and workforce development, and the National Resource Center for Hispanic Mental Health (NRCHMH), a private non profit organization spearheading the development and operations of the Alliance strongly recommend the following:

1) Adding a new strategic initiative on the elimination of disparities in the availability of, access to and the provision of culturally and linguistically competent mental health care to individuals from racial and ethnic minority populations, especially those with Limited English Proficiency -- we must enforce and monitor Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Executive Order 13166 - to other under served and largely marginalized populations. Disparities in access and quality of care have been well documented and continue to grow for some populations sch as Latinos, the nation's largest ethnic minority group. Given the rapid growth of minority populations, it is imperative to focus attention to the elimination of disparities and improving the delivery of culturally and linguistically competence mental health care.

2) While the plan mentions embedding the elimination of behavioral health disparities across all of the initiatives, we unfortunately feel that the draft fails to achieve this goal. Overall the plan fails to fully integrate cultural competence and the elimination of disparities in each of the proposed initiatives. We recommend revising each priority area to guarantee the inclusion of goals and action steps that reflect SAMHSA’s commitment to cultural competence and the elimination of disparities. These goals, objectives and action steps need to be clearly spelled out.

3) The Alliance and the NRCHMH applauds and supports increasing SAMHSA’s diversity scope to include individuals from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Research indicates significant barriers to treatment and quality of care issues that members of this community face when coming in contact with the behavioral health system so we welcome this new focus and SAMHSA’s leadership on LGBT mental health.

4) The Affordable Care Act provides opportunities and a variety of provisions focused on addressing disparities and cultural competence issues. The Alliance and NRCHMH recommends taking a close look at these provisions in order to take advantage of potential opportunities.

5) We recommend developing provisions to guarantee language access to services for Limited English Proficient individuals. Lack of such services only foster additional disparities in access to care.

6) The Alliance and NRCHMH welcome the creation of the Office of Behavioral Health Equity. This new office should be identified as the lead on a new strategic initiative on cultural competence and the elimination of disparities. While we recognize the intent of addressing cultural competence and disparities through the drafted eight initiatives, our experience shows that unless we create a specific goal and initiative for this, there is clear danger that this may not be achieved. Quite frankly, our country cannot afford to take such risk. Additionally, adding a cultural competence and disparities initiative will provide the impetus needed for this new office to grow. This would allow resources (staff, funding, etc.) to be allocated to this office.

We also strongly believe that SAMSHA must continue to address behavioral health workforce issues and be a leader in trainings, organizational and provider development, leadership capacity and more. We must address the critical shortage of behavioral health professional and leaders from racial and ethnic minority communities.

Studies show that psychiatrist have high rates of suicide and are at risk of drug and alcohol problems. They have high stress and divorce rates. Isn't it time that we stop pretending that they are immune to the normal problems that all people experience? We need to mandate screening for ALL mental health care workers for their safety as well as for the safety of the public at large. Considering that psychiatrist, doctors etc are "human" and they are protected by their respective industry insurance; even when they rape, mentally abuse, kill by overdose, misdiagnoses, etc...and the public is not privy to their crimes and they are allowed to continue practising and harming others, isn't it time that we the people and our government started to protect us from the members of this industry that are mentally ill?

The top of this page says, prevention works, treatment is effective. These lies have to stop. Congressional hearings must be held and many professionals have and are primed to speak out about the harm of industry invented labels, and the INEFFECTIVE, dangerous medications etc that are used as "treatment". Until the chemical imbalance lie is addressed, this industry can do little good for anyone. It serves ONLY to "make work projects" and feed off victims in crisis that it uses to sell its psuedo science and toxic brain damaging drugs to. This industry has no credibility. Stop selling lies and taking advantage of people in normal life crisis.