SAMHSA’s Award-Winning Newsletter

January/February 2011, Volume 19, Number 1

Increasing Outreach, Feedback, and Virtual Communities

By Meredith Hogan Pond

Facebook. YouTube. Twitter. Blogs. In response to President Obama’s request for Open Government, SAMHSA has developed a robust “digital engagement” program with established presences on four major social media channels. At the center of it all, SAMHSA’s blog serves as the hub for these behavioral-health-focused efforts. Read more.

Ask SAMHSA!

Have a question? A new monthly feature on the SAMHSA blog invites questions on a topic. First up? Parity.

What’s Open Government?

Collaboration, transparency, and public participation. These are the tenets of Open Government.

How Do Feedback Tools Work?

A successful first try with a “forum” format invites “votes” from the public on a topic.

What Are the Challenges?

Accessibility, privacy, risk management, and service issues are some of the challenges for social media platforms at SAMHSA.

In the News

President’s Budget

For 2012, the Budget requests $3.6 billion, of which $93 million is funded through the Prevention Fund, for SAMHSA—an increase of $67 million over FY 2010. Read more. View the chart.

Oil Spill Update: Call 1-800-985-5990

To support families and individuals affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, SAMHSA and the Ad Council created a new campaign. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin is featured in television PSAs. Read more.

Military Families

Presidential Initiative

Establishing a coordinated and comprehensive Federal approach to supporting military families is the President’s directive. Read the White House press release. View Resources list.

Suicide Prevention

Marvel Comics’ Superheroes Help

“Captain America” is giving a little help to save lives and prevent suicidal ideation among young people. Read more on SAMHSA’s blog.

Suicidal Thoughts & Behaviors: Who’s at Risk?

Adults ages 18 and older are at risk. An estimated 8.4 million adults had serious thoughts of suicide last year. Read more.

The President’s Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 includes $3.6 billion for SAMHSA. This is a $67 million increase over FY 2010. Read the story.

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From the Administrator

Above All, SAMHSA Seeks To Improve Lives

SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D., talks about SAMHSA’s newly revised document on the Strategic Initiatives. Read more.

View the 8 Strategic Initiatives

Read the Executive Summary and Introduction of Leading Change (PDF 479KB)

Prevention

Prevention Day 2011

With young people everywhere, this year’s Prevention Day included games and fun for local students. Visit Photo Gallery.

National Expenditures

Behavioral Health Spending Down

Of the $1.8 trillion spent on all health care services in the United States in 2005, behavioral health spending accounted for 7.3 percent ($135 billion). Read more.

Treatment Admissions