Policy Academies for States

Policy Academies on Developing Systems of Care: Transforming Mental Health Care For Children and Families Through Planning, Policy and Practice
Georgetown University National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health (TA Center) offcers Policy Academies on Developing Systems of Care. These Academies are a major national initiative to assist states, federally recognized tribes, and jurisdictions with the planning and implementation of public policies that ensure that children and families with complex needs access the services and supports necessary to be successful in their homes, their schools, and in their communities. Delegations from selected states, federally recognized tribes, and jurisdictions receive support with conceptualizing, planning, and implementing their public policy initiatives that impact practices and outcomes for children and their families.

As future Policy Academies are planned, information including a brief description of the Academy, dates, and the formal application process will be posted on this webpage. Generally, letters of invitation are sent to governors or other senior health officials in the states informing them of an upcoming Policy Academy. Based on responses to questions submitted within the Letter of Application, five states or jurisdictions are selected utilizing a review process. Applications for the Policy Academy must be submitted under the leadership of the governor's office or its public mental health authority and no state/jurisdiction is permitted more than one application.

The selected states each choose their repsective seven (7) person delegations comprising of key policy makers and partners to participate in the upcoming Policy Academy. Generally the delegations include delegates who are leaders within that state and are essential to successfully implementing the proposed policy initiative.

Each Policy Academy is more than just a three-day meeting. It is a three-pronged approach to creating public policy that will be implemented, in order to impact practice at the community level. Selected state delegations receive support prior to the actual academy meeting, follow-up after the academy meeting to help implement the developed Action Plan, and linkage to other resources throughout the next year.

During the Policy Academy meeting, delegations take part in:

• Interactive plenary panels and seminars provided by resource experts and peers;
• Facilitated individual delegation meetings that assist in designing a policy initiative, problem-solving design and implementation issues, and developing an Action Plans for follow-up; and
• Discussions in delegation meetings with resource experts to answer specific questions and issues.

For more information about Policy Academies, please contact Joan Dodge at 202-687-5054, or by email at dodgej@georgetown.edu.