CONTACT:
Mike Lurie
Office: 410-455-6380
Cellphone: 443-695-0262
mlurie@umbc.edu

June 6, 2007

BALTIMORE – National leaders in the mental health profession will participate in a day-long symposium at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) on June 12 that will examine the country’s evolving mental health system.

The symposium, “Moving Forward: Designing and Financing Effective Mental Health Services in an Era of Transformation,” is presented by UMBC’s Center for Health Program Development and Management (CHPDM). The program begins at 8:30 a.m. in Lecture Hall 9 of the UMBC Public Policy Building and will conclude at 4:30 p.m., with a reception to follow.

Participants will assess the effectiveness of both existing mental-health treatment practices and efforts by diverse government agencies to coordinate the housing, employment and legal needs of those with more serious mental illnesses.

A distinguished list of speakers includes keynote speaker Michael Hogan, recently appointed commissioner of the New York State Office of Mental Health (and chair of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health); Brian Hepburn, M.D., executive director of the Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration; and David Shern, Ph.D., president and CEO of Mental Health America. A. Kathryn Power, M.Ed., director of the Center for Mental Health Services at the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), will deliver the luncheon address.

Full details of the conference and individual sessions can be found at http://http://www.chpdm.org/Symposium/symposiaMeetings.htm.

About UMBC

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County is a major research university in the Baltimore-Washington area. Its proximity to both federal and state government offices provides an ideal setting for training in a public policy program, internships and employment opportunities.

The Department of Public Policy offers a Master of Public Policy, a Ph.D. degree, and advanced graduate certificates. Our major areas of focus are: health policy; evaluation and analytical techniques; public management; social policy; and urban policy. For more information, call 410-455-3201.

The Center for Health Program Development and Management, located at UMBC, works with public agencies and nonprofit community-based agencies in Maryland and elsewhere to improve the health and social outcomes of vulnerable populations in a manner that maximizes the impact of available resources. For more information, visit www.chpdm.org or call 410-455-6854.