New toolkit helps states assess and meet behavioral health needs The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is releasing a new toolkit designed to help states’ service agencies better assess and meet the behavioral health needs of their communities. The Behavioral Health Needs Assessment Toolkit provides states with detailed information on the latest behavioral health statistics as well as step-by-step instructions to generate projections related to what areas will need to be addressed in the future. The Toolkit also lays out issues for state agencies to consider in order to effectively plan for the behavioral health needs of emerging populations in each state. The Toolkit describes how states can access and refine data on behavioral health needs by focusing on particular populations categorized by factors such as income, insurance status, and age. In addition, the Toolkit provides existing national and state estimates of the prevalence of behavioral health disorders and use of behavioral health services among currently uninsured populations. This Toolkit information can be useful for all elements of state governments responsible for meeting behavioral health needs including mental health and substance use agencies, health plans, and Medicaid agencies. The primary data source for the Toolkit is the National Survey on Drug Use and Health – SAMHSA’s annual survey of 67,500 people around the nation which provides extensive information about a vast array of behavioral health issues. The Toolkit can be obtained at: http://store.samhsa.gov/product/SMA13-4757. The Toolkit was released on Monday, May 13 through a webinar hosted by State Refor(u)m. The archive of the webinar is available at State ReFor(u)m. Web-based tables for easy access to the estimates included in the Toolkit are available at http://samhsa.gov/healthreform/bhdatasets.aspx. For further information about the Toolkit contact Kevin Malone at Kevin.malone@samhsa.hhs.gov or 240.276.2239. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation. SAMHSA’s mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities. |
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