Negative attitudes and beliefs toward people living with a mental health or in recovery from a substance use disorder are common and harmful.

Ohio passed a limited version of parity legislation in 2006, well in advance of many other states and the federal government.

The mental health and addiction (behavioral health) treatment workforce is a complex and growing system made up of many professionals of varying levels of training and education.

Effective strategies to reduce the prevalence of mental illness and addiction conditions and decrease adverse outcomes require a full continuum of care, including health promotion, evidence-based prevention and treatment, and recovery resources to support healthy living.

Harm reduction is a public health strategy to reduce the harms associated with certain behaviors.

Each year, nearly 2.3 million Ohioans (20 percent of the population) experience a mental health condition, a mental health condition, with 575,000 experiencing severe symptoms.

The RecoveryOhio Advisory Council and the RecoveryOhio State Team are committed to addressing the unique needs of all Ohioans. In preparation for this report, the RecoveryOhio Advisory Council spoke about two “specialty” populations: individuals involved in the criminal justice system and youths.

Finally, the RecoveryOhio Advisory Council met and discussed data, outcomes measurement, and the need for multisystem connections to create a behavioral health service delivery system in line with the needs of all Ohioans.