EVALUATION PLANNING FOR AN INNOVATIVE CHILDRENS MENTAL-HEALTH SYSTEM

We describe an evaluation of an innovative mental health system for children and adolescents. The Ft. Bragg Demonstration was developed to provide a complete continuum of care to children receiving health care benefits through CHAMPUS. The evaluation, jointly funded by the State of North Carolina and the NIMH, is designed to evaluate the implementation, service quality, clinical outcomes, and costs of this new system of care. Over a 5-year period, approximately 1,100 children and families will be studied in a four-wave longitudinal study at Ft. Bragg and two comparison sites. This project should provide important information about whether these new systems work better than the traditional array of services.