We’re pleased to have with us this afternoon Gail Hutchings, the Acting Director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Mental Health Services. Ms. Hutchings leads a CMHS staff of 126 individuals in addressing both the 21st century challenges and opportunities presented to the nation’s system of mental health care. These challenges range from developing approaches to changing the disparities in access to services and negotiating the complexity of financing and funding concerns to building on presidential priorities such as the New Freedom initiative, the president’s New Freedom Mental Health Commission, and growing support for mental health parity. (Authors)