In 2013, the leadership of the Annapolis Coalition published an article in the journal Health Affairs calling for federal leadership and coordinated interagency action to address the growing behavioral health workforce crisis. Striking a similar theme, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a recently released report, identified the need for the Department of Health and Human Services to exert leadership in coordinating federal efforts on serious mental illness. The GAO deems federal interagency efforts as essential in coordinating activities, identifying gaps in services, and evaluating the impact of federal programs on mental health. The GAO report identified the Federal Executive Steering Committee for Mental Health as a body that formerly filled the coordinating function but has been dormant since 2009. The Steering Committee tackled selected workforce issues in the past.
The GAO report is available online.
The Health Affairs article on workforce development can also be accessed online.