The Maine Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services (BDS), the state mental health agency, in collaboration with the Institute for Health Policy, University of Southern Maine and Maine Medical Center, Psychiatry Research, with assistance from the New Hampshire-Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, proposes to enhance Maine's state-level and community-wide readiness to systematically deploy and implement effective evidence-based practices (EBP) throughout Maine's mental health service delivery system and to build the state's capacity to monitor, continuously evaluate, and research EBP dissemination and utilization. This goal will be accomplished through the following strategies (task areas): 1) strengthen Maine BDS's External Research Advisory Committee adding more consumer, family, provider, and ancillary state agency representatives and increasing focus on EBP research; 2) assess the status of Maine's dissemination and implementation of evidence-based prevention and treatment practices; 3) develop a model comprehensive State Mental Health Agency strategic plan for implementing EBPs 4) enhance state mental health system knowledge of EBP's; 5) strengthen Maine's EBP research agenda; and 6) strengthen collaboration between the State University and Technical College System and Maine BDS in order to better educate students in both mental health management, policy and clinical programs in EBPs. EBP focus areas include family psycho education, trauma informed services, supported employment, child psychotropic medication management and primary prevention.
