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The Role of State Mental Health Authorities in Managing Change for the Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices

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Abstract

The evidence-based practice demonstration for services to adults with serious mental illness has ended its pilot stage. This paper presents the approaches states employed to combine traditional policy levers with more strategic/institutional efforts (e.g., leadership) to facilitate implementation of these practices. Two rounds of site visits were completed and extensive interview data collected. The data were analyzed to find trends that were consistent across states and across practices. Two themes emerged for understanding implementation of evidence-based practices: the support and influence of the state mental health authority matters and so does the structure of the mental health systems.

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank Kathryn Falls, Wilma Townsend, and Eileen Hansen for their invaluable assistance in the data collection and report writing phases of this project, and Mike Hogan for his insights on an earlier version of this paper. The authors would like to thank the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Network on Mental Health Policy Research for its support for this project.

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Correspondence to Kimberley Roussin Isett.

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Isett, K.R., Burnam, M.A., Coleman-Beattie, B. et al. The Role of State Mental Health Authorities in Managing Change for the Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices. Community Ment Health J 44, 195–211 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-007-9107-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-007-9107-6

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