Policy

The Indiana Behavioral Health Commission was established in 2020 and it convened 24 elected officials, stakeholders and behavioral health providers for a series of meetings over a two-year period. In September 2022, the Commission members delivered its final report to the Indiana General Assembly aimed at improving infrastructure in the mental health space, addressing significant workforce needs, and improving mental health outcomes through policy and funding recommendations. The headline featured in most news coverage was the daunting finding that untreated mental illness in Indiana costs $4.2 billion annually.

Indiana Lawmakers: Mental Health Legislation

As virtually every Hoosier family can attest, the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental illness is a critically important issue.

Click here to watch Indiana Lawmakers discuss legislation calling for an expansion of mental health services statewide.

Kalen Jackson: How do we fix Indiana’s behavioral health system?

A little more than two years ago, our family launched Kicking The Stigma, a local and national effort to raise awareness about mental health and remove the stigma associated with mental illnesses. Since then, we have launched a national awareness campaign, created a grant program to help bolster organizations engaged in this important work and highlighted mental health at Colts games in 2021 and 2022.

Click here to read more.

Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch testifies on Senate Bill 1

Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch, co-chair of IMHR, testified before the Indiana Senate Appropriations Committee meeting last week to advocate for Senate Bill 1, which would allocate more funding toward mental health services across the state.

Click here to watch her testify.

John C. Lechleiter and Dan Evans: Let’s address Indiana’s growing mental health crisis

Indiana is in the midst of a mental health crisis. In a recent study by Mental Health America, Indiana ranked 41st in the nation for the state of mental health in adults, based on prevalence of mental illness and access to care, and 23rd for children.

Click here to read more.

Indiana Behavioral Health COmission

The Indiana Behavioral Health Commission was administered by the Family and Social Services Administration and chaired by Roundtable member Jay Chaudhary.

Please see this page for full coverage of the commission activity.

Priority legislation

Gov. Eric Holcomb and legislative leaders in both House and Senate have pledged support for legislation to enact key recommendations of the Commission.

Please click here for more details and click here for a presentation by Commission chair Jay Chaudhary