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Mental illness is the leading cause of disability in
the United States, yet millions of Americans and their
families struggle because they cannot get access to
treatment. What are your personal views about mental
illness? What will you do to improve access to mental
health treatment and to support recovery for those who
live with serious mental illnesses?
A recent report issued by the U.S. Department of Justice
revealed that as many as half of all inmates in U.S.
jails and prisons have symptoms of a serious mental
illness. Are there specific steps you would take to
reduce the numbers of these individuals in the criminal
justice system?
Nationally, Medicaid is the single largest payer of
mental health treatment. Millions of Americans rely
upon the program for access to critical services. What
specific reforms would you propose to improve Medicaid
and how will they affect individuals diagnosed with
mental illnesses? For Medicaid recipients, do you support
co-payments or limits on prescriptions or services for
people living with serious mental illnesses?
Families are in crisis as they struggle to find treatment
for their children and teenagers with serious mental
illnesses. Research tells us that there are services
that work, but they are not available in our local communities.
What will you do to address this growing problem and
ensure that children have the help they need to become
productive, healthy adults?
A key challenge for our future is building a healthcare
system that addresses racial and ethnic disparities
and is sensitive to the needs of different communities.
What will you do to eliminate existing disparities in
mental health care and to provide better treatment and
services to specific racial and ethnic communities?
Appropriate housing with supports is urgently needed
for adults with chronic severe mental illness. Despite
welcome recent initiatives to increase the supply of
supervised housing for mentally ill adults, however,
a critical shortage persists and will continue unless
significant further efforts are made. Many of those
who are disabled by a mental illness are in the very
uncertain position of living with elderly family members
whose ability to provide shelter and care may end abruptly
at any time. This, of course, also places extreme burdens
on the family members who care for and shelter the loved
one. Are you committed to providing substantial additional
funding to accelerate and expand efforts to address
this crisis and create sufficient suitable housing for
all who need it as soon as possible? What specifically
will you do to reach this goal quickly?
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