In the 2nd year of partnership with the Missouri Coalition for Community Behavioral Healthcare, BHECON is helping to turn ideas into action. Leveraging outcomes from previous forums and strong relationships with diverse stakeholders, advocates are using data to advance policy reforms that will strengthen Missouri’s behavioral health delivery system. The timeline below outlines major accomplishments, news and research of interest in Missouri.
On September 14th, BHECON hosted a Legislative Forum in Branson, MO in conjunction with the Missouri Coalition for Community Behavioral Healthcare’s annual conference. The panel featured three state representatives who serve on the House budget committee, including the chair, who took time to attend the panel despite being in special session…
Read moreOn June 22, 2018 the Missouri Coalition for Community Behavioral Healthcare, in partnership with the Behavioral Health + Economics Network (BHECON) and the Independence Center, hosted a regional breakfast to bring providers, individuals with behavioral health needs, state legislators and Congressional staff together to discuss challenges and opportunities for the…
Read moreUpcoming: Regional Breakfast June 22nd at the Independence Center
Read moreThis advocate tool highlights the key ways that Missouri’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics are addressing behavioral health workforce shortages, expanding integrated care including substance use disorder treatment, and saving Missouri money by decreasing ancillary hospitalizations and jail costs. The ask is to support the Excellence in Mental Health and…
Read moreIn December 2016 the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced the selection of the eight participating states: Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon and Pennsylvania. Now a quarter of the way through the two-year demonstration program, the National Council surveyed CCBHCs to find how their…
Read moreOn June 26, the Missouri Coalition for Community Behavioral Healthcare, in partnership with the Behavioral Health + Economics Network (BHECON), hosted a forum on how Missouri’s crisis intervention system has improved outcomes for individuals in crisis in the emergency room, relieving the burden on emergency department workers and law enforcement…
Read moreEstimated Number of People Living with Serious Mental Illness in Missouri
Read moreImproving access to high-quality medical care for patients with mental illness remains one of the most vexing problems facing the healthcare system in the United States. As a way to highlight key data on the health and economic impact of Medicaid and other federal policies in expanding access to care,…
Read moreStatement by the National Council for Behavioral Health on the Missouri House Budget Committee vote on HB 986 Repealing protections in current law that ensure access to psychiatric medication On behalf of the millions of Americans living with mental health disorders, their families and communities, the National Council for Behavioral…
Read moreAt a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing, the former Missouri Department of Mental Health’s Medical Director, Dr. Joe Parks testified to the many challenges behavioral health providers face. The issues raised by Dr. Parks, including workforce shortages, inadequate reimbursements, and the integration of primary care and behavioral health, have all been…
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Read moreBy: Lauren Moyer and Judge Joseph Locascio In November 2013, Kansas City, Missouri’s first responders, mental health providers, municipal court and mayor’s office decided that enough was enough. Our community knew that the number of arrested and jailed individuals with mental illness was unacceptable, and any solution required cross-systems collaboration…
Read moreBHECON featured in Sedalia Democrat: “It gave a little bit different perspective,” Pettis County Sheriff Kevin Bond said. “It kind of opened my eyes a little bit to a different way of viewing the people we’ve dealt with…”
Read moreOn August 17 in Kansas City, law enforcement officers and behavioral health providers mapped out a path toward a higher-performing crisis system.
Read moreOn August 4 in St. Louis, stakeholders gathered to discuss workforce shortages, their impact on access to care and policy changes needed to fill the gaps.
Read moreMental Health in Missouri: Limited Access, Increasing Demand and Tragic Consequences
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BHECON is a platform to bring stakeholders, researchers, policy experts and government officials across the fields of behavioral health, criminal justice, and public safety together to consider initiatives and reforms based on sound economic data. BHECON believes leveraging data and engaging diverse stakeholders can drive behavioral health system change to improve the lives of individuals living with serious mental illness.