After announcing a behavioral health strategy at the State of the Union on March 1, President Biden submitted a proposed 2023 budget to Congress which includes more than $100 billion in behavioral healthcare funding over 10 years to address our workforce crisis, expand parity protection, and extend services into new settings.
Since this announcement, CBHL members convened an advocacy workgroup to develop key advocacy recommendations around two areas of particular member interest – the behavioral health workforce emergency and integrated care, equity, and parity. As a result of this work, CBHL developed a white paper in response to President Biden’s plan to address America’s behavioral health crisis. The white paper contains a set of practical recommendations developed by CBHL members through the lens of addressing the workforce shortage and advancing integrated care. They support and are intended to bolster current proposals to strengthen the capacity of the behavioral health system, enhance connections to care, and create healthy environments.
In addition to the white paper, CBHL developed templates to support advocacy efforts. These templates (found below) include letters to legislators, call scripts, and social media posts.
CBHL issued a press release entitled “Mental Health Community Activists Seek to Address the Behavioral Health Workforce Shortage and Advance Integrated Care” on November 17, 2022 which contains more information on advocacy efforts.
How You Can Join Advocacy Efforts
View and share the CBHL White Paper “Response to America’s Behavioral Health Crisis: Recommendations for Addressing Workforce Shortage and Advancing Integrated Care.”
Write to your legislator(s) using a customizable letter template. Specific messages can be pulled from the White Paper.
You can find contact information for your legislators here.
Share this page and the CBHL White Paper through your social media channels using customizable sample social media language.
This page will continue to be updated with additional resources and templates related to advocacy efforts. Please continue to check back and share this page with anyone who may be interested in joining advocacy efforts.
For any questions or more information on how to get involved, contact Holly Salazer, CBHL CEO, at hsalazar@leaders4health.org.
