1. Establish Mental Health Parity Enforcement as a Top Priority

Despite federal parity laws, insurance companies routinely offer unequal coverage for mental health services. The new administration must enforce parity through stricter oversight, transparency requirements, and penalties for noncompliance.

2. Expand Access to Community-Based Mental Health Services

Fund and scale up Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs), mobile crisis units, and peer-led support networks in underserved areas—especially in rural communities and communities of color.

3. Prioritize Suicide Prevention in Federal Health Strategy

Create a coordinated national suicide prevention strategy that centers youth, veterans, LGBTQ+ individuals, and Indigenous communities—groups with the highest risk—while investing in evidence-based prevention and postvention models.

4. Invest in School Mental Health Infrastructure

Require all K-12 schools to implement mental health education, fund mental health counselors, and support trauma-informed school environments. Early intervention saves lives.

5. Address the Mental Health Crisis in the Criminal Legal System

Divert individuals with mental illness from incarceration by expanding mental health courts, crisis intervention training, and alternatives to jail. Fund reentry programs that support long-term recovery and healing.

6. Ensure Mental Health Support for Youth in Foster Care

Mandate trauma-informed care for all children in foster care, provide consistent access to therapy and counseling, and fund long-term emotional support beyond age 18.

7. Strengthen Workforce Development for Mental Health Professionals

Create incentives—like student loan forgiveness, higher wages, and training pathways—to address the severe shortage of mental health professionals, especially in high-need areas.

8. Protect and Expand Telehealth for Mental Health Services

Permanently extend telehealth flexibilities and reimbursements that were expanded during the pandemic. Make mental health care accessible across state lines and to those with mobility or transportation barriers.

9. Establish a Federal Office for Mental Health Equity

Create a dedicated federal entity to monitor and reduce mental health disparities across racial, gender, sexual orientation, income, and geographic lines.

10. Integrate Mental Health into Disaster Response and Emergency Planning

Require all federal and state emergency preparedness plans to include mental health response strategies—for natural disasters, mass violence, and public health crises like COVID-19.

The mental health crisis in the U.S. is not just a medical issue—it’s a moral one. These policy actions are urgent steps toward a future where no one suffers in silence, and every life is treated with dignity and care. Project Semicolon stands ready to work with leaders at every level to turn these recommendations into reality.