State Mental Health Policy: Effect on Outcomes for Identifies Priority Populations

This study uses service and policy information derived from the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Research Institute'sState Mental Health Authority Profiling System and from data on 1990 mental health services collected through theInventory of Mental Health Organizations. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of policies identifying children with severe emotional disturbance (SED) and elderly mentally ill as priority populations with actual utilization. Two outcome variables were used: (1) the proportion of children with SED or elderly clients in the total service population (service utilization), and (2) the proportion of treated individuals with mental illness in the state population (relative access). Initial analyses suggest a need for improving the systematic reporting of identified priority populations and provide planning implications for state and federal officials.