1. Upstream Services A Response to Sandy Hook April 4, 2013 Presenters: Luis Perez, George Sugai, Ellen Gerrity, Michael Brose

2. 113 Congress Responses Legislative Priorities Budget and Appropriations – Vigorous work on funding bills and trying to secure increases where appropriate or defeating proposed cuts; Mental Health in Schools Act (S. 195/H.R. 628) – Authorize grants to school districts to help them implement effective mental health programs; Excellence in Mental Health Act (S. 264) – Establish standards, oversight, and improved reimbursement for Federally Qualified Community Behavioral Health Centers; Mental Health First Aid Higher Education Act (S. 153/H.R. 274) – Provide grants to universities to train staff in Mental Health First Aid;

3. Legislative Priorities continued Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act Reauthorization of 2013 (S.116) – To renew the commitment to critically important youth and college suicide prevention programs, which provide a comprehensive approach to addressing the national problem of youth suicide; Mental Health Courts (MIOTCRA; S 162/H.R. 401) – Reauthorize and update a 2004 law (PL 108-414) that set up a grant program to support mental-health courts and other collaborative programs between the criminal justice and mental-health system; and Children's Recovery from Trauma Act (S. 380) – To reauthorize and update the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative for grants to address the problems of individuals who experience trauma and violence related stress

4. MHA Policy Team Julio Abreu, Senior Director, Public Policy and Advocacy – jabreu@mentalhealthamerica.net jabreu@mentalhealthamerica.net Debbie Plotnick, Senior Director, State Policy – dplotnick@mentalhealthamerica.net dplotnick@mentalhealthamerica.net Julie Kozminski, Public Policy Fellow – jkozminski@mentalhealthamerica.net jkozminski@mentalhealthamerica.net

5. Upcoming Webinars April 10: Transformative Impacts of the New Medicaid Expansion Program for Uninsured People with Mental Illness May 8: The ACA and Peer Support May 21 and 30: Hill Day Advocacy 101 Register here for these webinars