A structured interview survey of directors of a large national sample (n = 200) of mental health service organizations treating children examined the governance, financing, staffing, services, and implementation practices of these organizations; and, director ratings of factors important to implementation of new treatments and services. Descriptive analyses showed private organizations financing services with public (particularly Medicaid) funds are prevalent and that employment of professional staff, clinical supervision and training, productivity requirements, and outcomes monitoring are common. Results of random effects regression models (RRMs) evaluating associations between governance, financing, and organizational characteristics and the use of new treatments and services showed for-profit organizations more likely to implement such treatments, and organizations with more licensed clinical staff and weekly clinical supervision in place less likely to do so. Results of RRMs evaluating relations between director ratings of the importance to new treatment and service implementation of three factors-fit with existing implementation practices, infrastructure support, and organizational mission and support-suggest greater importance to public than private organizations of these factors. Implications for EST implementation and future research are described.

Implementation science is an emerging field of research with considerable penetration in physical medicine and less in the fields of mental health and social services. There remains a lack of consensus on methodological approaches to the study of implementation processes and tests of implementation strategies. This paper addresses the need for methods development through a structured review that describes design elements in nine studies testing implementation strategies for evidence-based interventions addressing mental health problems of children in child welfare and child mental health settings. Randomized trial designs were dominant with considerable use of mixed method designs in the nine studies published since 2005. The findings are discussed in reference to the limitations of randomized designs in implementation science and the potential for use of alternative designs.

A wide variety of dissemination and implementation designs are now being used to evaluate and improve health systems and outcomes. This chapter discusses randomized and nonrandomized designs for the traditional translational research continuum or pipeline, which builds on existing efficacy and effectiveness trials to examine how one or more evidence-based clinical/prevention interventions are adopted, scaled up, and sustained in community or service delivery systems. The chapter also considers other designs, including hybrid designs that combine effectiveness and implementation research, and designs that use simulation modeling. A case example of a recent large-scale implementation study is presented as an example of measurement and design considerations in dissemination and implementation research. The chapter provides suggested readings and websites useful for design decisions.

Mental health services utilization increases as young children come into contact with schools and medical providers or have more intensive involvement with child welfare. Minority children receive fewer services adjusting for need. Over the 18-month follow-up, there was a decrease in service use that may be a result of the tremendous financial challenges taking place in the United States.

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