77 - Challenges and Opportunities for Building Evaluation Capacity with Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Grantees

Abstract Information: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC)s are designed to integrate primary and behavioral healthcare to improve behavioral health outcomes in underserved communities. A-G Associates has approached evaluation with CCBHCs as partners. In our work with CCBHCs of varied size, location, and demographics, our approach has grown beyond enhancing data collection processes and integrating evaluation into the clinics’ current systems of care; evaluators are implementation partners, guiding data driven capacity building efforts for behavioral health clinics.

With evaluators positioned as implementation partners, start-up activities are fueled by a community needs assessment; an attestation confirming compliance with the CCBHC criteria; collection of physical, behavioral, and substance use health outcomes at a 6-month follow-up and discharge; and data collection on grantee goals and objectives. The evaluation methodology employed by A-G Associates is tailored to accommodate the unique contexts of individual CCBHCs, fostering collaboration, optimizing workflows, and implementing comprehensive data management systems to enhance decision-making processes. Special consideration is given to mitigating social determinants of health, such as unemployment and poverty, while prioritizing care for individuals with mental health or substance use disorders who encounter obstacles in accessing services due to capacity constraints or inadequate insurance coverage.