California Child Mental Health Performance Outcomes System: Recommendation Report
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (UCLA) was charged by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to examine available tools for the measurement of improvements in mental health and functioning status for children and adolescents served by California’s publicly funded specialty mental health systems. UCLA used scientifically rigorous methods to develop a recommendation for a tool that fits the scientific criteria for assessment of outcomes of care in this target population.
The study was conducted in three parts. Part I included three distinct activities to identity a list of candidate tools. Part II included conducting a modified Delphi panel to examine the scientific properties of candidate tools and rate them for measuring outcomes statewide. Part III involved examining the evidence gathered from Parts I and II to produce a recommendation to DHCS for a tool to assess child/adolescent functional status outcomes. This report provides detailed information on the methods of data collection and findings of each activity that culminate in the recommended tool and also includes a discussion of the challenges and considerations for implementation.
Publication Authors:
- Nadereh Pourat, PhD
- Bonnie T. Zima, MD, MPH
- Alethea Marti, PhD
- Christopher Lee, MPH