title: Levels of system of care implementation: a national study.
abstract: The results of a survey to measure the implementation of the systems of care (SOC) approach in a nationally representative sample of counties are presented. The results from 910 informants within 225 counties reveal a moderate level of implementation of SOC factors, with the level of poverty and population size influencing implementation. Furthermore, mental health informants generally tended to rate the implementation of systems of care greater than administrators associated with the school system, other family serving agency personnel or family members. Family members and school personnel tended to rate the implementation lowest, while staff from the other child serving agencies tended to rate the implementation closer to mental health administrators. A quarter of the counties (26%) surveyed rated themselves as having adequate levels of implementation on 11 or more of the 14 factors, while 75% rated themselves as having adequate levels of implementation on six or more of the 14 factors measured. Implications for federal policies regarding systems of care implementation are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Family Studies, MHC 2335, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA. kutash@usf.edu
authors.forename: Krista
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kutash
authors.forename: Paul E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Greenbaum
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Roger A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Boothroyd
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Friedman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006284:Health Plan Implementation / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States