https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-safeguarding-americans-mental-health-preventing-tragedy-suicide/

Fact Sheets

President Donald J. Trump Is Safeguarding Americans’ Mental Health and Preventing The Tragedy of Suicide

Healthcare

Issued on: October 5, 2020

Share:

All News

Quote

At a time when many Americans are experiencing increased stress, anxiety, and personal loss, we must also ensure that our country can meet the mental health needs of those struggling in this crisis.

President Donald J. Trump

IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH: President Donald J. Trump is taking action to improve Americans’ mental health which has been harmed by prolonged lockdowns.

President Trump signed an Executive Order to address the negative impact of prolonged shutdowns on mental and behavioral health and increase suicide prevention efforts.

The President is establishing a cabinet-level working group to assess the mental health needs of the most vulnerable, including the elderly, minorities, children, veterans, and people with disabilities.

The order also focuses on providing grant funding to support mental health treatment services including telehealth, peer-to-peer, and safe in-person therapeutic services.

The Trump Administration is also working to award contracts and grants to community organizations which provide mental health and suicide prevention support.

PROTECTING AMERICANS: The President’s order comes at a time when many Americans are facing increased mental health problems and other challenges stemming from the pandemic.

Research shows that Americans’ mental health has suffered during the COVID-19 shutdowns and vulnerable Americans have been disproportionately affected.

According to a CDC study, symptoms of anxiety and depression increased significantly since the prolonged stay-at-home orders, with disproportionately worse mental health outcomes among vulnerable groups.

40.9% of Americans reported at least one adverse mental health condition and 10.7% reported seriously considering suicide.

In July, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 53% of American adults reported that their mental health was negatively affected due to worries over COVID-19.

One in five of those who sheltered in place reported experiencing a major negative mental health consequence.

The overall negative impact of social distancing practices and economic shutdowns on mental wellbeing has led to reports of increased substance use and overdoses, decreased access to addiction treatment services, and increased calls to suicide prevention centers.

PROMOTING MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH: President Trump has worked tirelessly to improve Americans’ mental and physical health during his tenure in office.

President Trump has fought the opioid crisis in our Nation’s communities, issuing a nationwide call to action and working to expand access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder, including making it easier to find treatment services.

To protect our Nation’s veterans, President Trump signed an Executive Order, directing the creation of a roadmap to empower veterans and end the national tragedy of suicide.

Early in the pandemic, the President participated in a call with mental health and substance use disorder leaders and professionals to discuss the effects of COVID-19 on mental health.

The President signed legislation which allocated approximately $425 million in emergency funds to address mental and substance use disorders.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-saving-lives-increased-support-mental-behavioral-health-needs/

>>10936649

Executive Orders

Executive Order on Saving Lives Through Increased Support For Mental- and Behavioral-Health Needs

Healthcare

Issued on: October 5, 2020

Share:

All News

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Purpose. My Administration is committed to preventing the tragedy of suicide, ending the opioid crisis, and improving mental and behavioral health. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, these urgent issues were prioritized through significant initiatives, including the President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS), expanded access to medication-assisted treatment and life-saving naloxone, and budget requests for significant investments in the funding of evidence-based treatment for mental- and behavioral-health needs.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government has dedicated billions of dollars and thousands of hours in resources to help Americans, including approximately $425 million in emergency funds to address mental and substance use disorders through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The pandemic has also exacerbated mental- and behavioral-health conditions as a result of stress from prolonged lockdown orders, lost employment, and social isolation. Survey data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that during the last week of June, 40.9 percent of Americans struggled with mental-health or substance-abuse issues and 10.7 percent reported seriously considering suicide. We must enhance the ability of the Federal Government, as well as its State, local, and Tribal partners, to appropriately address these ongoing mental- and behavioral-health concerns.

Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to prevent suicides, drug-related deaths, and poor behavioral-health outcomes, particularly those that are induced or made worse by prolonged State and local COVID-19 shutdown orders. I am therefore issuing a national call to action to:

(i) providing crisis-intervention services to treat those in immediate life-threatening situations; and

(ii) increasing the availability of and access to quality continuing care following initial crisis resolution to improve behavioral-health outcomes;

(b) Permit and encourage safe in-person mentorship programs; support-group participation; and attendance at communal facilities, including schools, civic centers, and houses of worship;

(c) Increase the availability of telehealth and online mental-health and substance-use tools and services; and

>>10936704

(d) Marshal public and private resources to address deteriorating mental health, such as factors that contribute to prolonged unemployment and social isolation.

Sec. 3. Establishment of a Coronavirus Mental Health Working Group. The Coronavirus Mental Health Working Group (Working Group) is hereby established to facilitate an “all-of-government” response to the mental-health conditions induced or exacerbated by the pandemic, including issues related to suicide prevention. The Working Group will be co-chaired by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, or his designee, and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, or her designee. The Working Group shall be composed of representatives from the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Labor, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Education, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Small Business Administration, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and such representatives of other executive departments, agencies, and offices as the Co‑Chairs may, from time to time, designate with the concurrence of the head of the department, agency, or office concerned. All members of the Working Group shall be full-time, or permanent part-time, officers or employees of the Federal Government.

Sec. 4. Responsibilities of the Coronavirus Mental Health Working Group. (a) As part of the Working Group’s efforts, it shall consider the mental- and behavioral-health conditions of those vulnerable populations affected by the pandemic, including: minorities, seniors, veterans, small business owners, children, and individuals potentially affected by domestic violence or physical abuse; those living with disabilities; and those with a substance use disorder. The Working Group shall examine existing protocols and evidence-based programs that may serve as models to better support these at-risk groups, including implementation and broader application of the PREVENTS, and the Department of Labor’s Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion’s Mental Health Toolkit and Centralized Accommodation Programs.

(b) Within 45 days of the date of this order, the Working Group shall develop and submit to the President a report that outlines a plan for improved service coordination between all relevant public and private stakeholders and executive departments and agencies (agencies) to assist individuals in crisis so that they receive effective treatment and recovery services.

Sec. 5. Grant Funding for States and Organizations that Permit In-Person Treatment and Recovery Support Activities for Mental and Behavioral Health. The heads of agencies, in consultation with the Director of OMB, shall:

(a) Examine their existing grant programs that fund mental-health, medical, or related services and, consistent with applicable law, take steps to encourage grantees to consider adopting policies, where appropriate, that have been shown to improve mental health and reduce suicide risk, including the following:

(i) Safe in-person and telehealth participation in support groups for people in recovery from substance use disorders, mental-health issues, or other ailments that benefit from communal support; and peer-to-peer services that support underserved communities;

(ii) Safe face-to-face therapeutic services, including group therapy, to remediate poor behavioral health; and

(iii) Safe participation in communal support — both faith-based and secular — including educational programs, civic activities, and in-person religious services.

(b) Maximize use of existing agency authorities to award contracts or grants to community organizations or other local entities to enhance mental-health and suicide-prevention services, such as outreach, education, and case management, to vulnerable Americans.

Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,

October 3, 2020.