Nomination for Membership for the ISMICC
The ISMICC membership includes individuals who represent legislatively mandated categories and serve 3-year terms. The criteria to be considered for membership is described in the ISMICC Charter, under the section ‘Membership and Designation’.
The ISMICC is not accepting nominations at this point. However, interested candidates can send their information for consideration to fill any vacancies that may occur for up to 3 years. Interested persons who meet the membership criteria can send CV/resume with a brief statement of intent, to the SAMHSA National Advisory Councils Resource Mailbox, with subject line “ISMICC Nomination”, to”: NationalAdvisoryCouncils@samhsa.hhs.gov.
About ISMICC
In December 2016, the 21st Century Cures Act was signed into law. Through this Act (Public Law 114-255), the Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee (ISMICC) was established to make recommendations for actions that federal departments can take to better coordinate the administration of mental health services for adults with a serious mental illness or children with a serious emotional disturbance. ISMICC delivers the following to Congress and to other relevant federal departments and agencies:
- A summary of advances in Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) research pertaining to prevention, diagnosis, intervention, treatment, and recovery. This includes advances in access to services and supports for adults with SMI and children with SED.
- An evaluation of the effect federal programs related to SMI have on public health, including public health outcomes such as:
- Rates of suicide, suicide attempts, incidence and prevalence of SMIs, SEDs, and substance use disorders, overdose, overdose deaths, emergency hospitalizations, emergency room boarding, preventable emergency room visits, interaction with the criminal justice system, homelessness, and unemployment
- Increased rates of employment and enrollment in educational and vocational programs
- Quality of treatment services for mental and substance use disorders
- Any other criteria as may be determined by the Secretary
- Specific recommendations for actions that agencies can take to better coordinate the administration of mental health services for adults with SMI and children with SED
Report to Congress
The Way Forward: Actions to Improve Access, Quality and Affordability of Care to Persons with SMI and SED
Members of the ISMICC discussed recommendations in their first Report to Congress during a press conference on Thursday, December 14, 2017. The findings and recommendations in the report have the potential to spur federal action to revolutionize behavioral health care by increasing access, quality, and affordability of care. Important topics in the report include:
- The current needs of Americans with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and Serious Emotional Disturbances (SED) (PDF | 4.4 MB)
- Key advances in research on SMI and SED (PDF | 4.4 MB)
- Recommendations to improve federal coordination (PDF | 4.4 MB)
Access the Full Report and Executive Summary.
Federal Register
- Notice of Meeting for the ISMICC meeting on October 18, 2023
- Notice of Meeting for the ISMICC meeting on December 14, 2017
- Call for Nominations for the Non-Federal Members of the ISMICC
- Notice of Meeting for the ISMICC Meeting on August 31, 2017
ISMICC Resources
Federal staff from 10 departments and agencies have collectively organized and coordinated activities to better address the needs of people with SMI and SED and their families. Read ISMICC related products and monthly newsletters and blogs on actions to address ISMICC recommendations.
- Use of Measurement-Based Care for Behavioral Health Care in Community Settings – A Brief Report (PDF | 1.6 MB)
- February ISMICC Newsletter (PDF | 107 KB)
- March 2018 Blog (PDF | 159 KB)
- April 2018 Blog (PDF | 569 KB)
- May 2018 Blog (PDF | 310 KB)
- August 2018 Blog (PDF | 183 KB)
- September 2018 Blog (PDF | 246 KB)
- October 2018 Blog (PDF | 170 KB)
- SAMHSA Expert Panel on Best Practices in Statewide Real-time Crisis Bed Databases (PPT | 2.5 MB)