National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors

We have collaborated with the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) across multiple brain health topics. We supported NASMHPD in its efforts with the US government to convene hundreds of national stakeholders around planning and implementation of 988, the first three-digit number for the national suicide prevention and crisis line. Together with NASMHPD, the US government, and other national experts, we developed tools to assess system readiness and prepare for the transition to 988, including a set of playbooks that include "how-to" approaches and case examples for local providers, contact centers, state agencies, and others. There are opportunities to catalyze similar multistakeholder partnerships on crisis care globally.

We also partnered with NASMHPD, National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Council for Mental Wellbeing, and Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission to quantify the impact of scaling Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) for individuals experiencing first episode psychosis (FEP). We worked closely with our partners to develop a national model illustrating the societal and economic impact of expanding access to CSC. Insights from the national impact model have been translated to a whitepaper, to be published on NAMI’s website in November 2024. This collaboration is closely aligned with MHI’s foundational thinking on “scaling what works” to add years to life and life to years, and is applicable to a wide range of stakeholders from across the public, private, and social sectors.