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Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research

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01-09-2016 | Original Article

Characterizing the Quality Workforce in Private U.S. Child and Family Behavioral Health Agencies

Authors: J. Curtis McMillen, Matthew Raffol

Published in: Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research | Issue 5/2016

Abstract

Behavioral health agencies have been encouraged to monitor performance and improve service quality. This paper characterizes the workforce charged with these tasks through a national survey of 238 behavioral health quality professionals. A latent class analysis suggests only 30 % of these workers report skills in both basic research and quality-specific skills. Respondents wanted to learn a variety of research and data analytic skills. The results call into question the quality of data collected in behavioral health agencies and the conclusions agencies are drawing from their data. Professional school and continuing education programs are needed to prepare this workforce.

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Title: Characterizing the Quality Workforce in Private U.S. Child and Family Behavioral Health Agencies
Authors: J. Curtis McMillen
Matthew Raffol
Publication date: 01-09-2016
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research / Issue 5/2016
Print ISSN: 0894-587X
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3289
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-015-0667-4

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Characterizing the Quality Workforce in Private U.S. Child and Family Behavioral Health Agencies

Abstract

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