Increasing and Improving Community Access to Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Services

This policy addresses how mental health and addiction treatment services are at a low and need to be improved upon. This policy is fighting to increase the amount of programs which will be funded by Medicaid so that mental health and addiction treatment services will be added to more communities, thus increasing access. Impoverished and diverse communities are the main focus for this policy. Many communities lack services and thus people in those communities are silently suffering, with no information on where to go, and no money to do so.
This policy will...
--Increase and improve mental health programs and addiction treatment services
--Improve upon existing mental health and addiction treatment services
--Allow communities access to theses services, at no cost to them
--Decrease the amount of diagnosed and untreated individuals with mental health or addiction concerns
--Begin the movement to ensure that all people have equal access to mental health resources within their community.

The NASW Code of Ethics is a backbone for this bill. 6.04- Social and Political Action supports advocating "for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice."1

By signing this petition you are supporting and advocating for the movement to promote the general welfare of society. Everyone deserves the tools to better themselves.... it all starts with an advocate.




1. National Association of Social Workers (2007). Standards and Indicators for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice.