The mental health maze and the call for transformation.

In an early effort to establish his credentials as a “compassionate conservative” during the 2000 presidential campaign, George W. Bush pledged that if he were elected, he would create a commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the care of people with mental illness — the first such examination to be undertaken in almost 25 years. In April 2002, in fulfillment of his campaign pledge, Bush announced the creation of the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, the goal of which was to “recommend improvements to enable adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbances to live, work, learn, and participate fully in their communities.” 1