Investing in mental health and substance use prevention and treatment is vital to saving lives, as well as money. Early interventions can prevent unnecessary costs for the healthcare and justice systems, among others: people with untreated mental illnesses are 4-6 times more likely to be incarcerated than those without – with the average yearly cost of imprisoning an inmate at $25,000, far more than the cost of community treatment. The Mental Health Liaison Group (MHLG) supports policies that provide funding to programs that work with mental health and substance use.
Issue statements from the current session of Congress appear below. For statements from past Congresses, view the archive.
- MHLG Recommends Appropriations Committee Prioritize Behavioral Health, 7.17.17: The Mental Health Liaison Group sent a letter to Senate and House Appropriations Committee ranking members, urging them to prioritize prevention and treatment in FY2018. They attached specific appropriations recommendations, as well as a statement of support for the State Targeted Response Grants as authorized by the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016.