Policy & Advocacy
Founded in 1923, the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice advocates for policies, practices and research aimed at preventing behavioral health disorders and promoting conditions to ensure that people with disorders can be full participants in society. How do we advocate?PartnershipsTo that end, we collaborate with individuals and organizations representing a breadth of viewpoints and perspectives that transcend any single discipline or orientation to focus attention on the needs and rights of people with little voice in society. The Mental Health Liaison Group (MHLG), based in Washington, DC, is a coalition of national organizations representing consumers, family members, advocates, professionals and providers on mental health issues. MHLG provides its members with an opportunity to exchange information, cooperate in advocacy efforts, coordinate strategies and discuss public policy issues related to mental health. As an active member of the Health Policy Committee, we work with the Committee to develop positions on such issues as health care reform, Medicare, Medicaid, parity, managed care, and Medical Records privacy. We have signed letters on topics ranging from equity in Medicare to mental health in schools and mental health reform. The Global Alliance is also a sponsor of the Forum on Promoting Children’s Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Health (C-CAB), which was established as an outgrowth of the 2009 National Research Council-Institute of Medicine In 2017, we became a member of the Coalition for Whole Health. The Coalition brings together advocates from the mental At the recommendation of our Global Mental Health Task Force, we joined the Movement for Global ResolutionsOur resolutions provide a concise overview of our stance on a particular policy concern, resources for more information on the topic, ways that our members can get involved in addressing the issue, and background research from the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Resolution on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Policy BriefsWe recently began work on what will be a series of policy briefs on topics relevant to our task forces and current events. Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System Position StatementsOur position statements guide our policy and advocacy work. In the last 3 years, our statements have emphasized immigration, group care of children and adolescents, family homelessness, schools and juvenile shackling. The Impact of Immigration Enforcement on Children and Families Task ForcesWe organize task forces and study groups on issues of grave concern to the Alliance. Members are researchers, clinicians, practitioners, students and policy experts with expertise on the topic. We welcome individuals at various stages in their careers, from across disciplines, and who who work in a variety of settings. We currently are sponsoring three task forces: Mass Incarceration The Global Alliance formed a task force on incarceration in 2015 to address challenges related to mass incarceration. In particular, the task force is working on a white paper that will provide policy and practice recommendations related to the reentry of former prisoners into communities. Human Trafficking Our human trafficking task force is focusing on the prevention of trafficking of children and youth. Members of the task force presented on the development of a child trafficking prevention framework at the 2017 Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking. The task force also represented the Global Alliance at a Congressional Briefing on human trafficking prevention in November 2017. Global Mental Health As a global organization that recognizes a threat to injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, our global mental health task seeks to draw attention to disparities found throughout the world in mental health services and the too frequent violation of the rights of individuals with mental health concerns. In the past, we have sponsored task forces on the Rights and Mental Health of Immigrants, Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Displaced Persons; Children's Rights to Protection of Important Family Relationships; Mental Health and Human Rights; Family Homelessness; Intimate Partner Violence, and Schools as Places of Community. Congressional BriefingsWe are committed to applying principles of social justice to policy development. To that end, we have worked with our partners to sponsor and participate in Congressional Briefings. Recent topics discussed include human trafficking prevention, the opioid epidemic, and strategies for facilitating evidence-based policy. PodcastsListen to our podcasts. Webinars Coming Soon! BlogComing Soon! |
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