Since the launch of the Health Data Initiative, a major component of  the Open Government Initiative, the Health and Human Services Department has made hundreds of data sets available on healthdata.gov that were previously difficult to access or not publicly accessible at all.  The Health Data Initiative’s goal is to help consumers and communities get more value out of the Nation’s wealth of health data.  In recognizing the importance and usefulness of data to the health and behavioral field, SAMHSA is pleased to announce its first Behavioral Health Data Users …

In recognition of National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Health Awareness Week, March 26th – 30th, we are highlighting some of the activities SAMHSA has engaged in that align with this year’s theme “Come Out for Health”. First it is important to recognize that many LGBT individuals face discrimination in admission and health insurance policies, ill-prepared providers, fear of harassment or privacy concerns, and client information collection and reporting processes that are not LGBT-inclusive.
SAMHSA is making a difference through our LGBT-targeted efforts. Just a few of those efforts include …

How can data support effective policy-making and integration of quality services for Service Members, Veterans and their Families (SMVF)?  
Find out on March 29, 2012, from 1:30-3:00 (EST).  SAMHSA’s Military Families Strategic Initiative Service Systems Development Program (SSSDP) is hosting a webinar to increase understanding of how data can be used to strengthen behavioral health systems for SMVF.  Donna Aligata will moderate the webinar with presentations from Jamie Taylor, Senior Policy Analyst, Cloudburst Consulting Group, and William R. Abb, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired), Deputy Director, Citizen Soldier Support Program.
Key topics to …

Written By: Rashetta Fairnot, Public Health Advisor, CSAT Consumer Affairs

On March 21st from 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET, Recovery Month will be hosting our first Twitter chat of 2012 to help spread the word that prevention works, treatment is effective, and people recover. Our co-hosts, Marsha Baker, LCSW, Public Health Advisor, and Linda Kaplan, M.A., Senior Public Health Advisor of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, will share their expertise and insights on the topic of Recovery Support: Promoting Prevention, Collaboration, and Recovery Management.
This is an opportunity for the prevention and recovery …