Member Organizations

Established in 2010, the Behavioral Health Information Technology (BHIT) Coalition is comprised of organizations dedicated to advancing public policy initiatives that tap the full potential of technology in the delivery of coordinated, integrated services and treatment for people with mental health and addiction disorders.

Our Policy Agenda

Our Mission

A founding member of the BHIT Coalition, Netsmart is an innovative healthcare technology provider that provides electronic health records (EHRs), health information exchange, data analytics, mobile clinical and consumer engagement solutions for behavioral health, social services and post-acute communities.

Our more than 560,000 users in more than 25,000 organizations across the U.S. work together with our more than 1,400 Netsmart associates to connect communities and information across the care spectrum.

​For more information, visit www.ntst.com, call 1-800-472-5509, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, like us on Facebook or visit us on Google+ and YouTube

The National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, Inc. (NASADAD) is a private, not-for-profit educational, scientific, and informational organization. The Association was originally incorporated in 1971 to serve State Drug Agency Directors, and then in 1978 the membership was expanded to include State Alcoholism Agency Directors. NASADAD’s basic purpose is to foster and support the development of effective alcohol and other drug abuse prevention and treatment programs throughout every State.

The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA is the world’s largest association of psychologists, with nearly 130,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students as its members. As a companion organization to the APA, The American Psychological Association Practice Organization (APAPO) promotes the interests of psychologists in a wide variety of practice settings.

Mental Health America (MHA) is the nation's leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all Americans. Their work is driven by their commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all, early identification and intervention for those at risk, and integrated care and treatment for those who need it, with recovery as the goal. MHA has an established record of effective national and grassroots advocacy and achievement. With over 200 affiliates in 40 states, 6,500 affiliate staff and over 10,000 volunteers, they are a powerful voice for healthy communities throughout the nation.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW)  is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, with 132,000 members.  NASW works to enhance professional growth and development of its members,  to create and maintain professional standards, and to advance sound social policies.

Centerstone, a not-for-profit organization, is one of the nation's largest providers of behavioral healthcare. Focused on whole-person health, it offers a full range of mental health, addiction disorders, intellectual and developmental disabilities services and integrated primary care to meet the needs of the 117,000 children, teens, adults and families it serves each year. With offices in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, the combined organization operates from more than 150 facilities and 220 partnership locations and through a provider network of 400 therapists and counselors nationwide. It also operates the Centerstone Foundation, Centerstone Research Institute, Advantage Behavioral Health, Centerstone Military Services and Centerstone Health Partners.


The BHIT Coalition promotes a mental health and addiction policy agenda that strongly supports interoperable, electronic health records for both primary and behavioral health care providers as follows:

  • ​The inclusion of behavioral health information technology incentives in the implementation of the Medication Assisted Treatment bundled care demonstrations, as authorized in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (P.L. 115-271). These three demonstrations, totaling over $610 million dollars of new, federal spending expanding access to MAT will not be properly implemented without a set-aside for adoption of EHR systems for participating providers. 
  • The recognition that these providers are not post-acute, and patients will only receive effective, high-quality care from well-trained and licensed mental and behavioral health professionals in a setting designed to meet their specific and unique needs if EHR systems are present in their health care setting.


The National Association for Behavioral Healthcare (NABH) advocates for behavioral healthcare and represents provider systems that are committed to the delivery of responsive, accountable, and clinically effective prevention, treatment and care for children, adolescents, adults, and older adults with mental and substance use disorders. The NABH vision is of a society that values and maximizes the potential of all its citizens by helping them to achieve overall health. To achieve healthy communities, behavioral health will be recognized, respected, and allocated resources with fairness and equity as part of overall health.

The Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness (ABHW) is the national voice for specialty behavioral health and wellness companies. ABHW member companies provide specialty services to treat mental health, substance use and other behaviors that impact health. ABHW supports effective federal, state and accrediting organization policies that ensure specialty behavioral health organizations (BHOs) can continue to increase quality, manage costs and promote wellness for the nearly 125 million people served by our members.



The National Council for Mental Wellbeing (National Council) is the unifying voice of America’s community mental health and substance use treatment organizations. Together with our 2,000 + member organizations employing 750,000 staff, we serve our nation’s most vulnerable citizens — more than 8 million adults and children living with mental illnesses and addiction disorders. We are committed to ensuring all Americans have access to comprehensive, high-quality care that affords every opportunity for recovery and full participation in community life.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) is the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States. Founded in 1935, NACo assists America’s 3,069 counties in pursuing excellence in public service to produce healthy, vibrant, safe and resilient counties. NACo promotes sound public policies, fosters county solutions and innovation, promotes intergovernmental and public-private collaboration and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money.


With its headquarters on Capitol Hill, NACo is a full-service organization that delivers its services through its dedicated and skilled staff who comprise the following departments: Executive Management, Legislative Affairs, Public Affairs, County Solutions and Innovation, Information Technology, Finance and Administration and the Financial Service Corporation.


The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. They offer education programs to communities across the country, help to shape national public policy for those with mental illness, and lead public awareness events. NAMI works with reporters on a daily basis to make sure our country understands how important mental health is and their HelpLine is a free lifeline needed by many.

The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) represents 153 Jewish Federations and over 300 Network communities, which raise and distribute more than $3 billion annually for social welfare, social services and educational needs. The Federation movement, collectively among the top 10 charities on the continent, protects and enhances the well-being of Jews worldwide through the values of tikkun olam (repairing the world), tzedakah (charity and social justice) and Torah (Jewish learning).  JFNA promotes the interests and concerns of our federations to members of Congress and the Administration and works to ensure that the voice of the Jewish federations is a prominent force in health and human service policy decisions. 

NACBHDD is the only national voice for county and local behavioral health and developmental disability authorities in Washington, DC. Through education, policy analysis, and advocacy, NACBHDD brings the unique perspective of our members to Congress and the Executive Branch and promotes national policies that recognize and support the critical role counties play in caring for people affected by mental illness, addiction, and developmental disabilities.