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Funding Mental Health Services

Resources and links to websites with information on funding mental health services.

• Financing and contracting practices
• State and local examples

Financing Behavioral Health Services and Supports for Children, Youth and Families in the Child Welfare System: A Report of National Survey Findings (PDF - 7.5 MB) McCarthy & Le (2008) Provides descriptions of the types of financing strategies that are being implemented across multiple States and communities, describes the types of financing strategies employed within individual States, and offers insight into how these financing strategies are being implemented.

Financing and contracting practices

Medicaid and Financing of Health Care for Children in Foster Care: Findings From a National Survey (PDF - 248 KB)
UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families, and Communities
Health Services for Children in Foster Care, 1, 2002
Presents a national overview of financing policies and their impact from the perspectives child welfare, mental health, and State Medicaid agencies.

Medicaid Spending on Foster Children (PDF - 134 KB)
The Urban Institute (2005)
Provides key statistics on the medical and mental health services provided to foster children based on 2001 data from the Medicaid Statistical Information System Annual Summary File, and examines States' use of targeted case management for foster children.

Moving On: Analysis of Federal Programs Funding Services to Assist Transition-Age Youth With Serious Mental Health Conditions (PDF - 465 KB)
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law (2005)
Identifies 57 programs that address the wide range of needs of youth with serious mental health conditions who are transitioning into adulthood.

Promising Managed Care Approaches for Behavioral Health Services for Children and Families: Managed Care Design and Financing (PDF - 2293 KB)
Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute (2002)
Describes seven managed care design and financing approaches identified through the Health Care Reform Tracking Project that incorporate features that support effective service delivery for children and adolescents with behavioral health disorders and their families.

Public Financing of Home and Community Services for Children and Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbances: Selected State Strategies
Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disability, Aging, and Long-Term Care Policy, & and Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (2006)
Presents the results of a study of public financing mechanisms that States have used to pay for intensive home and community services for children and youth with serious emotional disturbances. Covers several key public strategies for funding these services.

A Self-Assessment and Planning Guide: Developing a Comprehensive Financing Plan to Support Effective Systems of Care (PDF - 1012 KB)
The Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health (2006)
A tool to assist States, Territories, and communities map current financing sources and plan financing strategies to support expanded services.

Strategies for Maximizing Medicaid to Fund Children's Mental Health Services (PDF - 86 KB)
Center for Mental Health Services Research, University of Massachusetts Medical School (2005)
Reviews findings from a study exploring innovative uses of Medicaid to fund systems of care for children with serious emotional disturbance and their families.

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State and local examples

Checking-up on Children in New York City Foster Care: Does the Medicaid Per Diem Rate Ensure Access to Care? (PDF - 566 KB)
Citizens' Committee for Children of New York (2005)
Discusses the findings of a two-part study that examined how foster care agencies use the Medicaid per diem rate and other resources to address the health and mental health needs of children in their care. Recommendations for improving insurance coverage for children in foster care are discussed.

Paving the Way: New Directions for Children's Mental Health Treatment Services (PDF - 4885 KB)
Citizens' Committee for Children of New York (2002)
Advocates for removal of regulatory and financing barriers to the development of evidence-based outpatient treatment models for children with serious emotional disturbance.

Transforming Children's Mental Health Treatment Services in Nevada (PDF - 48 KB)
Nevada Division of Child & Family Services (2005)
White paper that outlines how to increase access to mental health services for citizens in the State of Nevada.

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	Information Gateway Library Search Includes publications from 2000 to present Funding and mental health

Updated on March 1, 2010