TUKWILA -- Capping off months of outreach work across Washington state, a Prevention Policy Summit is scheduled for Tuesday, May 13, 2008, at the Doubletree Inn in Tukwila.

The Summit -- which continues an effort to guide Washington state toward a system that promotes mental health, intervenes early, and addresses the devastating impacts of mental illness -- is co-sponsored by the Mental Health Transformation Project, Washington state Board of Health, and others.

A demographically matched and balance group of 250, representing all age groups and many organizations within Washington state who have a stake in mental health policy, will meet to further prioritize issues that have been in discussion since the release of a report by the Washington state Board of Health late last year, Mental Health–A Public Health Approach: Developing a Prevention-Oriented Mental Health System in Washington State.

The report defines a public health approach to mental health that stresses prevention, just as physical health advocates promote exercise and good diet as a way of avoiding bodily diseases and chronic conditions. The Summit will rely on hand-held wireless polling devices distributed to each participant in order to facilitate consensus and keep discussions moving forward quickly and efficiently.

A chief aim of the Prevention Summit will be to formulate and assign action steps based on decisions made and consensus reached there, providing an action plan for coming weeks and months to keep the focus on this vital part of public health policy.

BACKGROUND: The Mental Health Transformation Project is a five-year project funded by a grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to support mental health infrastructure and service delivery improvement activities. A preventive approach has been identified as one of the critical components to that effort. The grant is a direct result of the move toward recovery-oriented, consumer- and family-driven mental health priorities identified by the President's New Freedom Commission. More information and background about the Summit, including copies of the Washington State Board of Health report, may be found at .

FOR ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND, CONTACT:   Jim Stevenson, Communications Director, HRSA, DSHS, 360-902-7604 (Pager: 360-971-4067).