Complex systems and complex problems require a collaborative approach to developing solutions. The Service Members, Veterans, and their Families Technical Assistance (SMVF TA) Center works to bring federal, state, and community partners together to close military and civilian gaps and strengthen behavioral health services for military and veteran families.

Focus areas of interagency collaboration include:

• Strengthening infrastructure
• Improving behavioral health policies for service members, veterans, and their families
• Implementing behavioral health best practices
• Building sustainability

Working together, stakeholders can maximize impacts at the community-level on critical behavioral health issues such as suicide prevention, substance use, and access to care.

Learn more about the agencies and groups that work together to address veterans’ behavioral health:

• Federal Interagency Task Force on Military and Veterans Mental Health
• SAMHSA SMVF TA Center Partners Group
• State and Territory Interagency Teams

For help with interagency coordination and federal efforts, email Cicely Burrows-McElwain, SAMHSA Military and Veteran Affairs Liaison, at cicely.burrows-mcelwain@samhsa.hhs.gov.