Administration Launches Maternal Mental Health Task Force Created by Senator Hassan and Tillis’ Bipartisan Law
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today launched the Task Force on Maternal Mental Health, co-led by the Office on Women’s Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Last year, Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) passed into law the bipartisan TRIUMPH for New Moms Act that required the creation of this task force.
“New moms struggling with postpartum depression or other mental health challenges need to know that help is out there – and how to get it,” said Senator Hassan. “I am glad that following our bipartisan law, the administration today launched the Task Force on Maternal Mental Health, and I look forward to seeing how it works to get more new moms the support that they critically need.”
“We must support mothers and streamline suicide prevention and mental health treatment services, and the Task Force on Maternal Mental Health is a positive step in the right direction,” said Senator Tillis. “I was proud to work with Senator Hassan on introducing and passing bipartisan legislation to create this important resources to mothers across North Carolina and the rest of the country.”
Read more about the task force here or below.
New funding, federal task force, and national public education campaign advance President Biden’s Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, and his Unity Agenda.
Today, as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Maternal Health Day of Action, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra announced several new actions to address the nation’s longstanding maternal health crisis. Secretary Becerra hosted a roundtable with the Health Resources and Services Administrator Carole Johnson as well as providers, advocacy organizations, and state and local leaders in Baltimore, Maryland. Secretary Becerra announced that HHS is awarding more than $103 million to support and expand access to maternal health, forming a new task force to address maternal mental health conditions and co-occurring substance use disorders, and launching a national public education campaign, Talking Postpartum Depression, to provide information about and combat stigmatization associated with this significant public health issue.
[…]Addressing maternal mental health is the focus of two new HHS initiatives also being announced today:
The Task Force on Maternal Mental Health, co-chaired by HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel Levine, M.D. and Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., will identify, evaluate, and make recommendations to coordinate and improve federal activities related to improving data and health equity as well as identify and create a strategy to implement best practices around prevention, screening, and diagnosis; evidence-based intervention and treatment; evidence-based community practices; and communications and community engagement. Ensuring mental health equity and promoting trauma-informed practices will remain a focus.
“The Biden-Harris administration has prioritized transforming behavioral health. We are committed to providing the full spectrum of integrated, equitable, evidence-based, culturally appropriate, and person-centered behavioral healthcare,” said HHS Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm. “The launch of the Maternal Mental Health Task Force is an important step towards achieving this goal.”
The task force is made up of both federal and nonfederal members, including those with lived experience. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMHSA) and the Office of the Assistance Secretary for Health and the Office on Women’s Health are collaborating to use the existing SAMHSA Advisory Committee for Women’s Services (ACWS) to support the task force. […]
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