title: Improving community-based mental health care for children: a commentary.
abstract: In their article, "Improving Community-Based Mental Health Care for Children," Garland and colleagues explore and confront quality issues that are endemic to outpatient specialty mental health care for children in the United States. Their article presents evidence supporting the lack of effectiveness of usual care and draws on implementation science to explore areas for improving the quality of outpatient mental health care for young people. This commentary accepts these basic arguments and strategies, explores policy options that support the suggested reforms, and examines evidence-based programs in a broader context that draws on the systems of care approach. Specific issues addressed in this commentary include workforce capacity, policy options for improving care quality, provider incentives, systematic implementation supports, strategies to incorporate evidence-based approaches into practice, youth-guided and family-driven care, and the need to expand the definition of evidence-based practice to include the concepts of community-defined evidence and practice-based evidence.
authors.affiliation: Division of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disabilities Policy, Office on Disability, Aging, and Long-Term Care Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, US Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Room 424E. 15, Washington, DC 20009, USA. david.devoursney@hhs.gov
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Voursney
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sondheimer
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Drumm
authors.forename: Phillip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.forename: Okori
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Christopher
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lulow
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Blau
mesh_terms: D016497:Adolescent Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D058996:Quality Improvement