http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases ... 206-8.htmlFor Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 6, 2006
Press Briefing on the President's Fiscal Year '07 Budget and Low-Income Programs
Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Room 66
PARTICIPANTS
Jim Towey, Director, Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
Claude Allen, Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy
MR. ALLEN: Good afternoon. I'm Claude Allen, Domestic Policy Advisor to the President.
DIRECTOR TOWEY: And I'm Jim Towey, Director of the Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives.
[snip]
Q In terms of the mental health sector, there are a bunch of conservative groups who argue mental health guides are medicalizing character, and in such light they feel that under this administration the mental health industry has been getting money for TeenScreen and for converting character flaws or behavior decisions into medical problems. They cite the new Freedom Commission, the SAMHSA support for TeenScreen and various other things.
Is there anything in this budget that would suggest you are moving to support character and community-based efforts on character and behavior, rather than the mental health industry?
MR. ALLEN: I would say probably the one that stands out to me most directly where we're focusing on helping young people avoid risk behaviors would be the Helping America's Youth Initiative, which is targeted at at-risk youth who are at risk of getting involved with alcohol, drugs, tobacco, sex and violence, particularly with the focus on young boys and their getting involved with gang activity.
I believe it's $150 million -- $50 million over three years, $50 million -- a three-year initiative, $50 million that really is working to identify science-based, research-based, evidence-based ways of working with young men and women, boys and girls, to help them navigate life successfully by equipping them with skills to address these risk behaviors.
Q But $50 million versus tens of billions a year on mental health is not a lot of -- it's not a big comparison.
MR. ALLEN: Again, the substance is in the SAMHSA area. SAMHSA also is focused on risk avoidance programs, and not simply risk reduction programs. And the risk avoidance programs actually focus on giving kids assets that we know, based on science, work effectively -- that is connectedness to parents, connectedness to schools, and connectedness to communities. And so Helping America's Youth is actually an umbrella that brings in and helps focus what SAMHSA is spending its money on, in a way that will get results.
And so just as we're focused in every other area on outcomes and results, with young people we're also focused on those programs that work to help them be equipped so that they can actually make choices that are healthy and good choices for them.
Q Is there any time you cut money for any of the groups or activities or approaches that you feel are less effective?
MR. ALLEN: In the SAMHSA area, we would have to -- I would defer to the budget folks on it because I can't think of --
Q In the broader area. Can you cite any cuts you made because of competition, because one approach is better than another?
MR. ALLEN: Well, I can tell you that in the '07 budget we propose 141 programs that were deemed ineffective or otherwise not demonstrating results. And so that whole list you can find something in there. I don't have the list of the 141; maybe we can just get that for you.
