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Foreword

Charles G. Curie, M.A., A.C.S.W. Administrator, SAMHSA

Substance abuse disorders and mental illnesses have a major impact on the health and well-being of many Americans. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is committed to improving the lives of people with or at risk for these disorders. SAMHSA’s vision is A life in the community for everyone, based upon the principle that people of all ages with or at risk for substance abuse disorders and mental illnesses should have the opportunity for a fulfilling life that includes a job, a home, and meaningful relationships with family and friends. Working with our constituents, SAMHSA’s leaders, managers, and staff have examined our programs and activities to align them with the strategies and priorities that will achieve our mission – to build resilience and facilitate recovery.

SAMHSA’s Strategic Plan and its “ACE” goals – Accountability, Capacity, and Effectiveness – are aligned with the HHS Strategic Plan, directly carrying out specific objectives within two goals of the HHS plan and contributing to many others. SAMHSA’s “ACE” goals serve as the framework for achieving SAMHSA’s mission and aligning our organization and budget structure with the mission. A Programs and Principles Matrix was developed based upon collaboration with and input from a variety of SAMHSA’s stakeholders, including Advisory Councils, national associations, and consumer and community-based organizations. The matrix provides a visual summary of the programs and issues that drive SAMHSA’s key initiatives and the cross-cutting principles that guide SAMHSA’s efforts. The priority areas are: Co-occurring Disorders; Substance Abuse Treatment Capacity; Seclusion and Restraint; Strategic Prevention Framework; Children & Families; Mental Health System Transformation; Disaster Readiness & Response; Homelessness; Older Adults; HIV/AIDS & Hepatitis; and Criminal & Juvenile Justice.

SAMHSA prepared two year Matrix Action Plans that are updated annually and outline how SAMHSA will accomplish the ACE goals and Matrix priorities. The process of developing these plans is at the heart of how our staff’s expertise and input from the field inform my policy decisions and how those policy decisions translate into programs. To further Matrix priorities, SAMHSA has initiated three major new capacity programs: Access to Recovery, Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grants, and Mental Health Transformation State Incentive Grants. These programs, plus a fourth that was initiated in FY 2003, Co-occurring State Incentive Grants, are referred to as SAMHSA’s “Redwoods” to reflect their intended long term impact. Matrix Action Plan objectives are tied to the agency’s annual budget request and cascade into individual staff performance plans across SAMHSA, beginning with my own performance contract.

SAMHSA continues to establish solid management processes and accountability systems that focus on measurable outcomes and performance goals. A Management Priorities Matrix provides a visual summary of management priority areas and key management systems. These systems drive how we develop and implement programs, conduct daily activities, focus the efforts of our staff across six Centers and Offices, and align work with the Administration’s priorities.

Finally, SAMHSA is also developing a data strategy to ensure that decisions regarding the Agency’s priorities are based on accurate information that will serve as a yardstick for measuring performance against real outcomes for real people, such as ensuring that people with or at risk for a mental illness or addictive disorder have the opportunity for a fulfilling life that includes a job, a home and meaningful relationships– as measured by a set of National Outcomes. Those National Outcome Measures are now being implemented in SAMHSA's Block Grant programs, an achievement resulting from years of work with the States. Similar measures are being implemented across SAMHSA's discretionary programs.

I am pleased to share SAMHSA’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2005 through 2010, our blueprint for how we will achieve the steady, enduring advances that will ensure SAMHSA’s vision of a life in the community for everyone.

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