Policy Research
Topic list
Scalable Strategies to Expand the Behavioral Health Workforce
SUMMARY— The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute conducted key informant interviews with organizations pioneering workforce innovations within integrated care settings to better understand how those approaches are being implemented on the ground.
‘What gets measured, gets done’
The Meadows Institute shares the value of measurement-based care. Speaking at a Nov. 21 webinar on “The Role of State Policy in Driving Behavioral Health Measurement, Quality Improvement and Cost Control” hosted by the Association…
Pediatric and Adolescent Collaborative Care Roundtable
The nation is facing a critical youth and mental health crisis. Half of all mental health conditions manifest by age 14, and yet children and youth are waiting an average of eight to 10 years…
Improving Behavioral Health Care for Youth Through Collaborative Care Expansion
The country is in the midst of an ongoing and worsening youth mental health crisis. Nearly half of all U.S. teenagers report that they struggle with persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness. Eleven percent of…
Near-Term Policy Solutions to Bolster Youth Mental Health Workforce through Digital Technology
In partnership with Going Digital: Behavioral Health Tech and with funding from The Commonwealth Fund, the Meadows Institute conducted research with key leaders across the Executive Branch of the Federal Government, Medicaid and Medicaid Managed…
Collaborative Care Implementation Costs Across Health Care Systems
Collaborative Care (CoCM) is an evidence-based treatment model for behavioral health integration. Typically implemented in general medical or pediatric settings, CoCM leverages the services of a specially trained behavioral health care manager to collaboratively manage…
Texas Behavioral Health Rankings
Despite their seeming precision, national rankings of states’ mental health service spending and quality are designed and intended to offer comparisons between states to inform future policy efforts. These ratings are not designed to provide…
The Collaborative Care Model
The Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) is an established, team-based approach to integrated care that routinely measures both clinical outcomes and patient goals over time to increase the effectiveness of mental health and substance use disorder…
CoCM & MAT to Prevent COVID-Related Suicide & Overdose Deaths (COVID-19 Impact Series, Volume 3)
In April, MMHPI began releasing a series of white papers analyzing the potential effects of a COVID-19 recession on rates of suicide and substance use disorder among the general population and among veterans. In those,…
Impacts of a COVID-Induced Economic Recession on MHSUD in Veterans (COVID-19 Impact Series, Volume 2)
In our first in a series of white papers on the anticipated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute sought to examine and project the impacts of COVID-19 on the mental health…
COVID-19 Federal Appropriations Summary
By early May 2020, Congress passed four bills in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Substantial funds will flow to health care providers, either directly or through state/local governments. This white paper provides health care related…
Effects of a COVID-Induced Economic Recession (COVID-19 Impact Series, Volume 1)
In April 2020, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI) issued the first in a series of white papers analyzing the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic which focused on how an economic recession could…
Multisystemic Therapy for Texas Youth
Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is a proven family- and community-based treatment for at-risk youth (ages 12-17) with intensive needs and their families. It has proven most effective for treating youth who have committed violent offenses, have…
COVID-19 Jail Diversion Prioritization & Admission Protocol Considerations
In response to numerous requests from Texas counties for guidance on the operation of jails during a pandemic, the Justice Policy Team at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI) developed a March 24, 2020…
Personal Protective Equipment & the Behavioral Health Workforce
The scarcity of coronavirus personal protective equipment (PPE) has been a concern for health care providers across the United States, and that definitely includes the many people who provide in-person services related to severe mental…
Mental Illness & Violence
In the aftermath of mass violence and the furor of the 24-hour news cycle, the words “mental illness” are often used to try to explain a perpetrator’s actions. In many cases, the assumption that mental…
Coordinated Specialty Care
Each year, about 3,000 Texas youth and young adults ages 12-35 experience a first episode psychosis (FEP). Many have access to health insurance through their parents (up to age 26), Medicaid, or CHIP, but they…
Coordinated Specialty Care – Payment Strategies
The delivery of coordinated specialty care (CSC) in early psychosis programs transforms lives by changing the trajectory of schizophrenia for youth and young adults. Unfortunately, the future of early psychosis programs is at risk because…
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) Overview
In 2011, Seattle, Washington piloted the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program. LEAD, now growing across the country, is an evidence-based, collaborative, pre-arrest diversion program aimed at improving public safety by reducing drug use, drug…