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Office of Public Information and Education
For additional information, please call (615) 532-6610 - Pager 1-800-283-0007 ID #7449

For Immediate Release
February 6, 2003

Nashville, TN — Virginia Trotter Betts, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, will testify at a public hearing in Memphis on Friday, February 7 before a delegation of President Bush’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. The public hearing will be held from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon in the Shelby County Government, County Commission Chambers located at 160 North Main, Memphis, Tennessee.

The President’s Commission plans to conduct a comprehensive study of the United States’ mental health system, including public and private sector providers, and to advise the President on methods of improving the system. Commissioner Betts joins legislators, mental health professionals and mental health leaders from Mississippi and other neighboring states at the forum.

In her comments, Commissioner Betts will highlight some of the accomplishments of the state in mental health services. Most notably the successful revision to Title 33, the code governing the provision of mental health services to better reflect current policy and treatment protocols; the Creating Homes Initiative (CHI) which has created 2,755 new housing options for people who have a mental illness since its inception in 2000; and the Criminal Justice Task Force convened to examine the issues and seek solutions relative to people with mental illness in the criminal justice system.

Additionally, she will address some areas of concern and make recommendations for improvement to the commission. "I am very pleased to have been invited to participate in this very important process and to have the opportunity to articulate some of Tennessee’s priorities to those recommending policy/programs at the federal level," said Betts.

The public is invited to attend.

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