Our proposed research agenda builds on and extends our prior decade of mental health research in the social services. Established by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in 1993, the Center for Mental Health Services Research (CMHSR) was the nation’s first Social Work Research Development Center (R24 MH50857), and was renewed in 1999 for five years. In September 2004, the School became the nation’s first school of social work to receive NIMH funding as an advanced center for interventions and services research (NIMH – P30 MH068579).
The Center for Mental Health Services Research has been effective in carrying out funded research projects. Since 1995, the Center has supported 103 externally funded, faculty-initiated projects representing approximately $63 million in direct funding (66 NIH funded, 13 other publicly funded and 24 privately funded). There are currently 24 active projects with cumulative direct funding of over $22 million. Additionally, CMHSR supports a variety of pilot projects through the various phases of preparation or resubmission of a full research proposal to NIH. These projects represent some of the pioneering clinical epidemiological, service-systems, and quality-of-care research at the intersect of mental health and social service. Our studies document the need for mental health care and challenges in mental health services, providing a base for the next generation of research, developing, and testing quality improvements to care.
Projects under the auspices of the CMHSR are conducted in collaboration with many different community-based agendas. As a whole, the CMHSR has targeted relationships with the following state agencies:
