Financing Guide Suggests Next Steps

A new step-by-step approach to assess system of care financing structures and strategies is now available for experts in the field of children’s mental health systems. A Self-Assessment and Planning Guide: Developing a Comprehensive Financing Plan, released by the Research and Training Center (RTC) for Children’s Mental Health at the University of South Florida, will help planners, policy makers, advocates, family representatives, researchers, and others engaged in building systems of care for children and families prioritize next steps for building sustainable service systems in their states and communities.

First in a new series of technical assistance tools and resources produced as part of the RTC study, Financing Structures and Strategies to Support Effective Systems of Care, the guide was authored by study team members Mary I. Armstrong, Ph.D., Sheila A. Pires, M.P.A., Jan McCarthy, M.S.W., Beth A. Stroul B.A. M.Ed., Ginny M. Wood, B.S., and Karabelle Pizzigati, Ph.D.

The guide builds on over a decade of inquiry on behavioral health financing, and includes new findings from the first year of the current study. RTC investigators convened a panel of financing experts, including family members, state and county administrators, representatives of tribal organizations, providers, and national financing consultants to develop a list of critical financing strategies and study questions to be used at case study sites. Main areas addressed in the guide are:

• Identification of current spending and utilization patterns across agencies
• Realignment of funding streams and structures
• Financing of appropriate services and supports
• Financing to support family and youth partnerships
• Financing to improve cultural/linguistic competence and reduce disproportionality in care
• Financing to improve the workforce and provider network for behavioral health services for children and families
• Financing for accountability

During the next few years, the team will produce a series of technical assistance briefs. Based on findings from site visits to the ten case study sites selected by a national expert panel for the RTC study, the briefs will provide more in-depth descriptions of how to implement financing strategies.

For additional information, or to request a copy of the guide, contact Mary Armstrong, Ph.D. at 813-974-4601, or download a pdf version at http://rtckids.fmhi.usf.edu/rtcpubs/hctrking/pubs/AssessPlanGuide2006/index.htm.