Teen mental health playbook published

The cover of the policy playbook.

The efforts of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation and others to create policy action guidelines for expanding adolescent mental health services came to fruition last month.

AcademyHealth published Addressing Teen Mental Health Crises: A National Policy Playbook on October 8. The downloadable 58-page document identifies policy priorities across seven policy domains: financing and funding; teen-centeredness and family engagement; models of care; building the workforce; information and communications technology; research and evaluation; performance improvement.

Working with JHF and under the guidance of a national advisory panel, AcademyHealth partnered with Adolescents and Children Together for Health (ACT for Health) to identify best practices, barriers, and policy priorities for creating a teen mental health safety net. At the June 5 National Summit for Policy and Action on Teen Mental Health Crises in Washington, D.C., JHF's CEO Karen Wolk Feinstein, Director of Government Grants & Policy Robert Ferguson, Program Manager Deborah Murdoch, and Staunton Farm Foundation Executive Director Joni S. Schwager were among the 45 researchers, health system leaders, policymakers, advocates, and other thought leaders to develop a national policy and advocacy strategy to create a safety net for teen mental health crises.

The playbook advocates for teen-centered models of care using digital communications, fresh approaches to financing and funding, and more. Learn more here.