States Selected for Financing Policy Academy

SAMHSA is pleased to announce the selection of four states to participate in its Policy Academy initiative, Financing Effective, Community-Based Behavioral Healthcare Services and Supports for Youth Diverted From the Juvenile Justice System. The states are: Florida, Illinois, Maryland, and South Dakota.

The goal of this effort is to explore financing options to support a comprehensive continuum of community-based services and supports needed to effectively divert youth with behavioral health conditions from the juvenile justice system. Employing a wide range of available financing options will likely result in more effective use of behavioral health and juvenile justice services, and better outcomes for youth.

Multidisciplinary teams of both state and local stakeholders from each of the four states will convene to do the following:

Discuss challenges to financing community-based services and supports for youth diverted from the juvenile justice system.
Learn about financial resources currently available to support behavioral health care services and supports for these youth.
Explore new sources of funding and examine options for financing structures and payment reforms to support diversion efforts for these youth.
Develop an implementation strategy and formulate action steps.

For questions about the initiative, contact the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice at ncmhjj@prainc.com or 866-962-6455.